Facing The Sadness

STEP FOUR

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Jesus said, “why worry about a speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own?… First, get rid of the board. Then you can help your brother.” (Matthew 7:3 – 5)

Facing the Sadness

Bible reading: Nehemiah 8:7 – 10

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 – Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

Many of us falter at the prospect of making an honest personal inventory. The rationalizations and excuses abound for avoiding this step. The bottom line is, we know that there is an enormous amount of sadness awaiting us. And we fear the pain that facing the sadness will bring.

The Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem after captivity in Babylon had lost touch with God. During the exile, they hadn’t been taught His laws; so naturally, they hadn’t practiced them either. After rebuilding the city walls and the temple, the priests gathered the people together to read the Book of the Law. The people were overwhelmed with grief and began sobbing, because their lives in no way measured up. The priest said to them, “Don’t cry on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God – it is time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:9 – 10)

That they marked the beginning of the Festival of the Tabernacles, a required Jewish feast which celebrated their escape from bondage in Egypt and God’s care for them while they wandered in the wilderness.

When we set out to face the pain and sadness of making a moral inventory, we will need the “joy of the Lord” to give us strength. This joy comes from recognizing, even celebrating, God’s ability to bring us out of bondage and to care for us as we pass through the sadness toward a new way of life.

Our joy in the Lord helps us to face the sadness within ourselves.

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