In Taking Stock, You Miss Out on His Riches

Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions.

Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four. A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values.

We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations. (AA, pg. 64)

AA is all about taking your inventory, working, and making sure that you stay one step ahead of the booze.

In Christ, we are already more than conquerors (Romans 8: 37). His blood keeps cleansing us from all sin (1 John 1: 7). In Christ, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1: 3). We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 17). We do not take our inventory because Jesus has paid for all our sins (Colossians 2: 13).

In fact, the one sin that we are convicted of is not believing on Jesus:

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

"Of sin, because they believe not on me;" (John 16: 8-9)

The one sin that now damns people is not believing on Jesus! The one work that we are called to is believing on Him! (John 6: 29)

If we spend all of our time taking stock of things that have already been taken care of, then we miss out on the unsearchable riches which Christ has given us! The only tactic that the devil has left is to keep distracting us from entering the rest of provision and peace which we receive in Christ Jesus!