Look at Jesus, Not Your Feelings or Actions, to Break Free

This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA, pg 84)

"When these things crop up" implies that we must identify and remove the upsets, tremors, tumults in our lives.

The Bible teaches us to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ Jesus (Romans 6: 11-12)

Our walk in Christ has nothing to do with fixing our feelings, but rather fixing our eyes on Jesus, who is everything (Colossians 1: 15-20), and He transforms us from glory to glory.

AA claims that we are responsible for fixing our emotions and repairing our responses, a life in which we look at our thoughts and feelings, always keeping an eye on ourselves when we feel selfish, frightened, or anything else.

Resentment, especially is the "Number One Offender":

It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. (AA, pg 66)

The distortions, fabrications, and outright lies of this passage are too numerous to treat in one post, so for the sake of brevity I will focus on the passage which declares that resentment "cuts us off from the sunlight of the Spirit."

Nothing could be further from the truth:

"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-39)

As I was growing up, I believed that if I felt angry, frustrated, or resentful, I had to do something about those feelings before I could come to God, or before God could work in my life.

The Bible not only tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin, in that we do not partake of any sens eof condemnation because of such feelings, but that we should come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4: 16). Grace means "unmerited favor", that we do not earn it because of anything that we do or say, or even feel.

In fact, we are invited to come to Jesus as we are, because when we believe on Him, we become children of God (1 John 3: 1-3), and God the Father sees us as His own Son (1 John 4: 17), because we are in Christ (1 Corinthians 3: 23) and He is in us (Colossians 1: 27)

Moreover, we can trust that the Holy Spirit who comforts us with the indwelling life of Jesus Christ ensures that we will be more like Him:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14: 26)

and

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18), we become more like Him in our walk and talk and every other aspect of life on this earth, because He is our life (Colossians 3: 4).

Instead of wasting time trying to perfect our flesh (including our thoughts and feelings), we are called to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16), which makes us more like Jesus, who lives in us.

And if we still struggle with feelings, follies, failures, we can rest assured that Jesus is working on  us:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 1: 6)

and then

"12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2: 12-13)

Look at Jesus, see Him in greater glory, and the resentments, upsets, fears, and frustrations of your flesh will fall away.