Take Responsibility

“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.”
- Galatians 6:4-5

Over the last few days, we have discussed the overwhelmingly encouraging idea that your story has not fully been written, that no matter where you are right now, it is not the end. This means your current circumstances can change. But first, you must face the facts and take responsibility.  

In the story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:17 says that things began to turn around for the son when “he came to himself.” When he reached rock bottom, he woke up, and he realized that where he was in the present was not in line with who he was.  

The text says, “He came to himself.” It is as if other people had been telling him all along, “Hey brother, you aren’t moving right. You don’t have the right people around you. You are out here blowing money fast.” But he couldn’t hear it then. He had to hit rock bottom, and it caused him to see what perhaps others had been telling him all along. He came to himself.

And in doing so, he began to see not just where he was and what he was doing, but why and how he got there. When he came to himself, he had a moment of reckoning that caused him to come to terms with himself, his behavior, and his mentality. He faced the facts, and he took responsibility.  

Is this what you need to do? Do you need to face the facts and be honest with God? Be honest with yourself? Be honest with others about why you are where you are? The only way to get out is to take responsibility.  

The beautiful thing is, you don’t have to stay where you are. Once you take responsibility and realize you have the power to change your situation, you can begin to take steps to get out. But it all starts with you. The son “came to himself.” Are you ready to do the same?