Throughout Scripture, God calls us the sheep of his pasture. The prophet expounded on this when he wrote, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).
How does this happen? How do we get off track? Do sheep mean to get lost? Do they just run away, determined to go their own way?
No.
More often than not, sheep nibble here and there. They see greener pastures across the field and stray slowly in a new direction. They don’t pay attention to what is happening; they become lost through unintentional carelessness.
That’s us. That’s how we stray from our recovery program. A little carelessness here. A missed meeting there. It’s called gradualism. It doesn’t take a crisis; we just kind of wander away until we realize we no longer know the way home.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Recovery Step: Watch your next step. Make it count.
Author: Mark Denison
Mark and Beth Denison, married for 36 years, launched There’s Still Hope as a national movement to call men and women into lives of sexual integrity. Their ministry offers 90-day recovery plans for addicts and one-on-one and group coaching for addicts and their spouses. TSH also produces resources for pastors and churches to confront the porn epidemic that is destroying so many lives.
Dr. Denison was a senior pastor for over 30 years, NBA chaplain, and board chairman at Houston Baptist University three times. With a Master’s Degree in Addiction Recovery, Mark is a certified PSAP and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
Mark has written four books on recovery: Porn in the Pew, 365 Days to Sexual Integrity, A 90-Day Recovery Guide, and 40 Days to Porn-Free Living. His latest book, Jesus on the 12 Steps, will be released later this year.
