One of the most productive steps in recovery happens in Celebrate Recovery lesson 14 as you get ready to make some serious changes in your life. If you didn’t experience changes from your steps in recovery, you would be making zero progress. Change is often a good thing!
As you discover and learn about the changes that you need to make, get excited! By understanding that everything happens for a reason, you’ll likely turn into a more well-adjusted person after you’ve made the needed changes in your life!
Celebrate Recovery lesson 14 is vital because it helps you change those hiccups in your character that you need to adjust – the things that might be preventing you from moving forward!
Lesson 14 goes with Step 5 in Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery. It also corresponds to Celebrate Recovery’s principle 4 of the Celebrate Recovery 8 Principles.
If you’ve just begun Celebrate Recovery, start with Celebrate Recovery Lesson 1: Denial. If you are up to speed, refer to Celebrate Recovery Lesson 13 for the last lesson.
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What is Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14: Ready?
Celebrate Recovery principle 5 is to: Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. This will be an eye-opener! Step 6 says: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Get ready for some exciting changes in your life!
Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. – Matthew 5:6 (TLB)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up! – James 4:10 (TLB)
| Lesson | Principle | Step | Bible Verses |
| 14 | 5 | 6 | Matthew 5:6; James 4:10 |
Celebrate Recovery uses many acrostics, so in lesson 14, we use the acrostic for READY, and it tells us what it means to be ready to have the Lord remove the defects in our character successfully. It’s time for change to happen, so be ready!
This acrostic is from Celebrate Recovery lesson 14.
- Release control.
- You can easily do it.
- Accept the changes you need to make.
- Do replace any character defects that need it.
- Yield to all growth that needs to happen.
So get rid of all that is wrong in your life, both inside and outside, and humbly be glad for the wonderful message we have received, for it is able to save our souls as it takes hold of our hearts. – James 1:21 (TLB)
What Does “Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14” Mean?
There are step studies in the 12-step Christ-centered recovery program, Celebrate Recovery, where you work through the lessons found in the CR curriculum created by Rick Warren and John Baker. This is a Bible-based program.
You go through the curriculum usually with a small group over several months. Celebrate Recovery is a program for people with hurts, habits, or hang-ups. Let’s be real; you fit the bill. After all, doesn’t everyone?
Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14 comes from John Baker’s Celebrate Recovery Participant’s Guide. This is the third lesson from Getting Right with God, Yourself, and Others: Participant Guide 3. You can probably buy this at a Celebrate Recovery meeting or step study.
The Celebrate Recovery leader guide might vary a little from the participant’s guide, but all teachings are based on the Beatitudes in the New Testament. The Celebrate Recovery 8 principles refer to those verses from Matthew in the Bible.
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. – Psalm 143:10 (TLB)
What Does It Really Mean to Be Ready?
You might think you are ready for this step, but what does it really mean to be ready? Of course, it means to be prepared and likely to be anticipating an event or activity already. However, it can also mean you are mentally, spiritually, emotionally, or physically ready for action.
You might be willingly inclined or disposed to do something, which is the official definition of the word “ready.” We can be ready to go to the store or mall or be ready for a promotion or award, but how often are we ready for change? We don’t usually prepare ourselves for that.
In recovery, change is inevitable. You can attend meetings and walk through the motions, trying not to be impacted by the testimonies you hear or the lessons you are exposed to, but you will learn and listen. Change will sneak up on you, too – even if you are trying to avoid it!
While you might be unable to “prepare” for change, you can accept the fact that it is going to happen. You might learn to enjoy change, as it can make you a better person and improve your current circumstances. Change can be a wonderful thing!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone and the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14 Highlights
Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14 Notes
According to the Celebrate Recovery study guide, it’s important that you get ready to allow God to remove your character defects!
#1. Release control.
Remember that God has given us free will. You are able to act and react in any way that you see fit. Not all of these actions will be beneficial for you, but can do as you wish nevertheless.
While it is great that God has given us this freedom, we should realize that He wants us to invite Him into our lives! According to Principle 5, you need to be ready and willing to let God into every aspect of your life because He isn’t going to come in where He is not wanted.
If you want God to remove your character defects, you’ll need to welcome God in your life. Allow Him to mold you and create in you a new person. He will help you along each step of the way in your recovery – if you will only let Him inside your world!
Help me to do Your will, for You are my God. Lead me in good paths, for Your Spirit is good. – Psalm 143:10 (TLB)
#2. You can easily do it.
Maybe saying you can easily do it is a bit misleading. You are able to do anything you wish; it may just not be an easy thing to do. All of the principles and steps in Celebrate Recovery take time; they are not quick and easy fixes to anything! It takes dedication and hard work.
Give God the time needed to work in your life. Part of this lesson is not just stopping the wrong behaviors and actions; it’s about starting the right ones. Plus, ending one behavior is not an overnight fix; in order for it to work, you need to allow it time to marinate and sink in.
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it and He will. – Psalm 37:5 (TLB)
#3. Accept changes.
It can be one thing to see the need for a change. It’s an entirely different thing to allow the change to occur. If you feel trapped by your own will, you are going to struggle to work on this step. Be willing to accept God’s help along the way, and things will come more naturally.
Consider the struggle you have when you are pulling on a rope. If it does not easily want to give, you will be fighting with it. It’s much easier when there is slack, and you can grab a hold and pull lightly. The same is true for your power and strength in recovery; make it easy on yourself!
If you allow God to be a part of your recovery, the chances of you having success go up tremendously. Why wouldn’t you want that advantage? Wouldn’t it be better to have a Cheerleader on your team rather than someone who is pulling you down?
Have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Be obedient to God, and don’t allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. – 1 Peter 1:13-14 (GNT)
#4. Do replace the character defects you need to.
You didn’t come to have your hurts, habits, hiccups, problems, compulsions, or other issues overnight. Likewise, you can’t easily get rid of an addiction. When God helps you remove one, you will want to replace it with something positive.
Think about going to more CR meetings, attending church services, or doing some volunteer work. Read your Bible, make Christian friends, or pick up another healthy habit. If you replace one issue for a different positive behavior, you will be better off. Things will get easier.
To aid you in your study of God’s Word, consider buying the Celebrate Recovery Study Bible or Devotional Book for 365 Days! Use these during your time with God!
For I can never forget these awful years; always my soul will live in utter shame. Yet there is one ray of hope: His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. – Lamentations 3:20-22 (TLB)
#5. Yield to growth.
There’s a chance that the self-doubt and self-esteem you used to have or currently have is not healthy. You might have convinced yourself that you are not worthy of the progress you are making in your recovery journey, but don’t listen to this!
You have been working hard on your road to recovery; you deserve every bit of praise for this progress. The Holy Spirit is working within you to help you grow along the way, and you are doing a fantastic job! Give yourself a pat on the back!!
Make sure you are in communication with other people at Celebrate Recovery – people who lift you up for your victories! Don’t allow yourself to be dragged down by negativity and self-doubt or individuals who don’t lift you up for your many accomplishments! Keep up the good work!!
The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him – he has been born again. – 1 John 3:9 (TLB)
If you are ready and willing to voluntarily submit to the changes God wants to make in your life, pray the following:
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being with me every step of this recovery journey. Please help me to be ready to change my shortcomings. Provide me with the strength to deal with my defects of character, as I turn them over to You.
Help me to accept all of the changes You wish to make inside of me and be the person You would have me be.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Related: Celebrate Recovery Serenity Prayer
Lesson 14 Questions
- List all of the areas of your life that you have turned over and surrendered to Jesus Christ.
- List all of the areas of your life that you are still holding on tightly to or the things that you are trying to control yourself.
- What does “easy does it” mean to you? In what area of recovery are you trying to rush and apply a “quick fix?”
- What is the difference between seeing a need for change and being totally ready to accept positive change in recovery?
- What positive changes could you make in recovery to replace your character defects? How will these changes affect your family and your job?
- In what ways have you been able to accept and enjoy the growth you are seeing in recovery?
More Valuable Celebrate Recovery Resources
A CR Video – Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14: Confess
Lesson 14 of Celebrate Recovery: Ready – YouTube
Free Recovery Lesson 14 Study Guide
In the Recovery Lesson 14 Study Guide, you are given more questions to go over with your Celebrate Recovery step study group! There is no cost, so enjoy this free resource!
Add the link to Study Guide
A Personal Story – Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14
I’m Michele, a very grateful believer in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I celebrate recovery from several addictions. Also, I still battle anxiety, perfectionism, OCD, and other life issues – as I’m sure you can relate! After all, we are all human!!
Surrender to Jesus Christ
When I was first going through the 12 steps of Celebrate Recovery, the list of things I needed to turn over to Jesus Christ was quite different from what it is today – over a decade later. However, it did and does all have a lot to do with one thing – my addictive personality!
While I used to be addicted to men and anything that had to do with that obsession, I also struggled with laziness, loneliness, and coping with various health issues – things that are still problems for me!
Don’t get me wrong; a lot has changed! Now, instead of unhealthy obsessions, I lean on healthy addictions – if you can imagine there being such a thing. Let me try to explain.
Rather than chatting with guys that I have no business talking to – that will only get me in trouble and send me running back to my unhealthy habits, I turn to God when the itch for an addiction arises. I lean on Bible study, prayer, watching sermons, reading, and things of that nature.
Building a relationship with God was the smartest thing I ever did in recovery. Getting close to Him keeps me grounded and out of trouble. When I want to obsess over something, I think about my faith and pray to God about what’s on my mind.
I strongly encourage you to do the same! It’s the best investment you will make in your life. It gives you purpose and hope!
You can ALWAYS turn to God when you are in doubt about something. He’ll help you make decisions and give you a shoulder to cry on!
In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success. – Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)
A Relationship with God
So, committing to God and having a strong relationship with Him are not quick fixes. You can pray, read your Bible, listen to sermons, and go to church and still feel lonely in this world. Unfortunately, faith is not a magic pill that you can swallow to make the pain go away.
Let me explain.
Faith is actually having hope that something bigger is out there. If you truly believe in God, the loneliness you feel will begin to dissipate. It won’t go away completely, but you will begin to see the many ways that God can fill the void, and you will be less lonely!
We all have holes in our hearts from something that has hurt us. Maybe you are in love with the wrong thing, which is why you are in recovery! God can be the “something” you have been looking and hoping for!
Remember, God is by your side every step of the way – whether you are in pain or not. And no matter what your walk looks like, you are probably in some kind of pain right now. Suffering is just part of life, unfortunately, but so much good is there, too! Look around to see the beauty!
Keep in mind that each time you work to build your relationship with Him, you are getting closer to having a great, lasting bond that will change your life. It’s like a marriage or friendship; it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to build a bond that will impact your soul.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. – Psalm 150:6 (NIV)
Building a Relationship with God
Here are some suggestions I can offer – straight from MY study guide notes – on how to have a real relationship with God. First, get in communication with God. Pray your heart out. I find it helpful to pray out loud, set reminders on my phone to do it hourly, and use a prayer journal!
Second, get in the Word. Read and study your Bible. It is SO important to listen to God, so make sure you are truly listening for Him.
If you aren’t listening, the communication is one-sided, and you’ll never know what He wanted to say to you. Take time to have quiet moments with Him.
Make friends at Celebrate Recovery. Invest in positive people who understand what you are trying to do in recovery. These people will help your relationship with God really thrive and reach new levels. Hopefully, you’ve met the right people in recovery – people who are building you up!
Finally, commit to your relationship with God. Write about your faith in a journal, spend time doing volunteer work, and work on yourself. By that, I mean that you should always be trying to improve yourself to be the best version of YOU that you can be!
For example, I used to have a pretty difficult time with patience. I knew this was an issue that I needed to work on, so I began studying it. Through reading books, prayer, and self-help exercises, I discovered new ways to be a more patient person. I’m not perfect, but I am better!
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it, and He will. – Psalm 37:5 (TLB)
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 12 steps of Celebrate Recovery?
The 12 steps of Celebrate Recovery are based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They include:
- We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
- We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- We decided to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
- We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- We admitted to God, ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
- We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- We continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
- We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having a spiritual experience resulting from these steps, we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.
What does it mean to be READY in recovery?
Being ready in recovery means that you are ready for whatever change you need to make. Keep in mind that changes won’t happen overnight the way you’ve imagined them to be. Quitting addictions or overcoming battles takes time, but you CAN do this! In fact, you ARE doing this! Congratulations!
What are the 8 principles of Celebrate Recovery?
The 8 principles of Celebrate Recovery (and based on the Beatitudes) are as follows.
- Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.
- Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.
- Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
- Openly examine and confess my faults to me, to God, and to someone I trust.
- Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.
- Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.
- Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
- Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
What does it mean to control things in your own power?
When you attempt to control things on your own, you are not letting God do His part. You are not trusting Him to help you. Having a little faith that He is there and won’t leave you isn’t always easy, but it is a lifesaver! Give up some of that control today!
What is the Serenity Prayer?
The Serenity Prayer from Celebrate Recovery (CR) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is as follows: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Memorize it for encouragement during those hard times!
Conclusion
As you become an expert in recovery, you will just breeze through lessons like this one! I’m sure of it! In this article on Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14: Ready, we’ve gone over:
- What is Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14: Ready?
- An Overview of Celebrate Recovery
- A Summary of the Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14 Study Guide
- Additional Resources – a FREE Study Guide and Video
- My Story in Relation to Celebrate Recovery Lesson 14
- And More!
I love sharing how Celebrate Recovery changed my life; please help me to continue this ministry by sharing this article on social media.
If you’d like to share a comment or suggest a recovery topic for me to write about, reach out, and we’ll do our best!
Be sure to get your FREE Lesson 14 study guide and free copies of the printable Serenity Prayers in the shop!! Memorize that prayer; it can be your saving grace in times of trouble!
Stay tuned for the next lesson – Celebrate Recovery Lesson 15: Victory! We are more than halfway through the lessons, readers! That’s pretty exciting!!
