Thursday, October 16, 2014
How Will I Know God's Will For Me?
I am often asked, HOW WILL I KNOW GOD'S WILL FOR ME. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says "that it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times." We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that as time passes our thinking will be more and more on the plane of inspiration We come to rely on it." Inspiration is defined as "the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of man." Once the thoughts of God hits my soul, I don't need to run it by my intellect to know it is the truth.
Although I am not capable of turning my will and my life over to the care of God in Step Three, I am capable of making a decision, a final choice to do so. Deciding from this day forward, I am willing not to allow my thought process to be propelled by my human instinct but rather by the will of God through inspiration.
If you have already made that decision, may God bless you and if you have not perhaps now would be the time for you to decide to turn your thoughts and behavior over to the care of God and begin to live your life in peace.
If the Blog has been a help to you, on the Blog kindly click Armand and then My Web Page to download the audio files on my personal experience with the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. You can also find the files at Learn Out Loud .com
May God Bless You
Armand
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
God's blessings are constantly being bestowed upon us . When we are living in our spiritual state we position our selvels in situations to be able to see, hear, smell, touch, & taste all of His blessings. When in the human nature we are living in a fallen state of mind. Failure is propelled by our defective instincts. Now we come to realize that we must rely on inspiration
ReplyDeleteso we may live a life of being joyous & free. In service of others and searching for ways to be able to give of thy self, will align me with the will of God. Prayer is the tool to improve alinement in my communication with God !
Don love your line of "in service to others and searching for ways to be able to give of thyself. Only possible when we are free of our self centeredness...Thanks...Armand
ReplyDeleteBy definition, "how will I know" implies intellect, thinking. As you so clearly delineate, God's will for me is a matter of "feeling" rather than "knowing." It is beyond a transformation of thought. It is, instead, a replacement of thought. That replacement is something which you define as Inspiration. And that definition is perfect. As I have learned through sponsorship and The Twelve Steps, my human nature is going nowhere, and my will will always be pervasive because it is part of my self. Self, then, has always been the basic problem for me - too much me! Letting go of me requires Trust that there is a better way for me to live and a better place in which to live and love. I needed to lose my mind to find peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteMichael It is in losing that we win. To recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body requires us to "let go" of our human nature and "let God" by living in the will of God....Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteThis comment is from A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteArmand,
Even from the earliest moments of my having attained the "age of reason," knowledge of the will of God had never been a problem. Following it however was an entirely different story. I simply didn't have the "juice" to delay my overwhelming desire for instant gratification, often at the expense of others, and the result was always the same deep sense of guilt followed by an overwhelming compulsion to avoid, at all costs, the shameful consequences and social rejection of my actions. Usually by lying, but the effort to maintain the illusion of my outward innocence always required a never ending stream of elaborately concocted lies that, as many have experienced, results in a veritable mountain of guilt and shame I was completely incapable of extracting myself from. I easily bought into the ultimate deception that the antidote for this poisoned way of thinking was to swallow more of the same poison that had overwhelmed me in the first place, the inevitable result, insanity...
This was the fuel that ultimately propelled my total rejection of the person of God and His gloriously simple plan for continuous communion and the overwhelming joy and peace that follows. Alcohol became my principal source of courage, refuge and yes my principle "god" ( for I had many others). Yet, in His perfect provision, the very substance that compelled me to waste what little was left of my life became the ultimate propellent to that desperate cry for help to Him whom I had rejected and His principles l despised. In one spontaneous plea for deliverance, birthed from the belly of my soul, hopelessness became hope as I was miraculously introduced to the rooms of AA, the 12 Steps of the founders and the direct testimony of those who had come to believe that the love and forgiveness of God transcends every sinful act mankind has ever committed, and that this same Author and Finisher provides Himself... as the simple yet complete plan, propitiation and power the very instant anyone musters the mere willingness to believe.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic As you have pointed out my friend, only having experienced the joy,love and peace of a relationship with God can one become grateful for the self inflicted pain that brought about the needed surrender so that we became willing to participate in the grace from God which is so freely given...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteI pray for others to be relieved of such pain and such angst as I endured before I knew there was even a decision regarding my will to be made. I didn't know the pain could be lifted. I didn't know that He could take care of me, that in fact He WAS taking care of me - leading me, at times at a distance, at other times carrying me. Now being introduced and having fallen in love with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous I know there is a decision we each make on the spiritual journey to open our minds and our hearts, our whole beings, to His will for us. No longer am I willing to allow my thoughts to run the show, so I pray for Him to help me stay on the plane of inspiration - which I find is a stream flowing through my soul, sometimes rippling quietly sometimes rushing rapidly but never-ending. How I feel Him within me I hope and pray that I share quietly and successfully amongst my fellows…because it is through all of you by HIM that I am inspired and therefore how I thrive in my spiritual gift called life everlasting.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin loved when you wrote" I pray for others to be relieved of such pain and such angst I endured before I knew there was even a decision regarding my will to be made."
ReplyDeleteIf we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body that decision eventually must lead to a complete surrender...Thank you so much...Armand