I love this video because it gives an illustration of the hurts and hangups that plague us though we sometimes don’t necessarily see it. It might be an addiction but it could also be fear or depression.
What the video doesn’t show is that for many people, they can’t just shrug off their “gorilla” and move on with their life. It’s much more complicated than that.
Sometimes that gorilla ain’t going nowhere no matter how hard you try to beat him off, as the video shows! You need God’s help.
Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church has a very effective program called Celebrate Recovery that helps people defeat their “gorillas.” This program’s first tenet is important: Admitting your need.
Sometimes we think we can do it all ourselves but it’s usually not that easy. We need to admit that we’re not God and that we need to rely on Jesus to give us the strength to beat our hurts, hangups and habits.
Sometimes “relying on Jesus” can become just a cliche for Christians. But when your completely beat down, it may be your only option.
Admitting our need reminds me of a verse that really enlightened me during my battle with stage 4 cancer. This Bible verse was 2 Corinthians 12:9 and it taught me that when I was weak and really helpless as far as whether chemotherapy would work, then I had no choice but to rely on God:
But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Admit that you are weak. Admit like I did that I was powerless. When you do, God’s power is made perfect in your weakness because you know you’re not in control anymore.
Once I knew my only choice was to rely on God, then I suddenly became much more confident and secure. I knew God would take care of me either in life or death.
How about you? Is that gorilla stalking you? You might never get that monkey off your back until you turn to God. Celebrate Recovery has a state-by-state listing of places where you can find their program (under the Group Finder tab at the top).
No gorilla stands a chance against God!
