“RELAPSE”—falling back into a self-defeating pattern

How it happens
1. Complacency
2. Confusion
3. Compromise
4. Catastrophe

1. WHAT CAN CAUSE A RELAPSE?

1. REVERTING TO WILLPOWER
“How can you be so foolish! You began by God’s Spirit—do you now want to finish by your own power?” Gal 3:3 (GNB)
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord; … you will succeed because of my Spirit.” Zech. 4:6 (TLB)
2. IGNORING ONE OF THE STEPS
“You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth?” Gal 5:7 (GNB)
3. TRYING TO RECOVER WITHOUT SUPPORT
“Two are better off than one, because if one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it’s just too bad, because there is no one to help him.” Eccl. 4:9–10 (TLB)
“Let us not give up the habit of meeting together.” Heb. 10:25 (GNB)
4. BECOMING PRIDEFUL
“Pride goes before destruction.” Prov. 16:18 (TLB)
“So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” 1 Cor. 10:12 (NRSV)

II. HOW TO PREVENT A RELAPSE

R eserve a DAILY TIME with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and gain THE POWER to do it.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. For the spirit is willing but the body is weak.” Mark 14:38
1. EVALUATION
“Check up on yourselves …” 2 Cor. 13:5 (TLB)  “Let us examine ourselves … and let us repent.” Lam. 3:40 (TLB)
What to Evaluate:
 Physical:
 Emotional:
 Relational:
 Spiritual:
“Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.” Gal. 6:4
When:
1. SPOT CHECK INVENTORY
2. DAILY REVIEW
3. ANNUAL CHECKUP
2. MEDITATION
“SLOW DOWN long enough to hear God.”
“Happy are those who … are always meditating on God’s laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are like trees along a river … that do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.” Ps. 1:1–3 (LB/GN)
“I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.” Ps. 119:11 (TLB)
3. PRAYER
“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven; May your holy name be honored; may your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the wrongs that we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done us. Do not bring us to temptation, but keep us safe from the Evil One.” Matt. 6:8–13 (GNB)