In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, "When we encountered A.A., the fallacy of our defiance was revealed. At no time had we asked what God's will was for us; instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant RELIANCE, NOT DEFIANCE. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe. We saw them meet and transcend their other pains and trials. We saw them calmly accept impossible situations, seeking neither to run nor to recriminate. This was not only faith; it was faith that worked under all conditions. We soon concluded that whatever price in humility we must pay, we would pay."Written by Armand
We know that Dr Harry Tiebout concluded that all alcoholic were plagued with "defiant individuality" - we are all defiant at the core. Why does that ring so true? I believe that without Trust, we have no one and nothing upon which to rely. We are stuck with ourselves and, in a very real way, isolated from the rest of humanity, which renders us defiant. In truth, AA was the first thing in my life I ever trusted. The depth of that trust was dependent on the incorporation of The Twelve Steps into my life until they became my life. In that process, I found The Power Within me with Whom I developed a personal relationship. For me, personal means that we can rely on one another. The Big Book and a knowing sponsor steadily showed me that The Power Within me was infinitely reliable. But that it would take both work and time for my formerly-prevailing human nature to accede to That Power. Trust. That process was followed by peace. Peace that is reliant not defiant.
ReplyDeleteMichael love the line you wrote "I believe that without trust, we have no one and nothing to rely. We are stuck with ourselves..." Through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous a reliance upon God is developed that allows us to navigate through life in peace...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThis Comment Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteWrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and but not least, gluttony. Each represents the essence of unrestrained human nature. All find their foundation in self-worship, none can be abandoned by anything short of a miracle. This is the bucket of muddy water I carried through the doors of AA and were it not for a crippling and overwhelming desperation I would never have crouched to enter through that low and narrow gate.
Truly, God Himself had been walking beside me all along, even during the most depraved events of my prodigal journey. Loving and reaching out past my every act of unwavering defiance. His only one desire for me? That I surrender to His unspeakable love, accept the price he paid for me and invite Him to dwell within my heart. The 12 Steps and fellowship of AA brought into crystal clarity the faith hope and charity that is the grace of the Eternal Author's gift, freely offered to all who would receive it.
And having received Him, I have been invited to be a partaker in all that His Presence provides; true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Yes, just for today, I pray that I will more clearly see His Presence in this world, in circumstances, in people, in the new person He is creating in me and celebrate the new life He is creating in others! Lord, I want to start this day with a pure heart so that I will experience more of the wonder of Your grace and goodness.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic the experience with God brings us from manifesting defects in our behavior to manifesting virtues in our behavior. Our reliance must always be on Him...Thank you...Armand
DeleteMoving from alcohol reliance to reliance on a higher power and all the gifts that it brings in sobriety is truly amazing. I am in other things defiant but when I finally surrendered and saw that this thing worked the thought that went through my head was 'don't question it' so at the start my reliance was on AA as I saw it really worked. I then relied on a sponsor to guide me through the steps and the promises of the AA program came true if I did what was 'suggested.' Defiance blocks me off from the sunlight of the spirit and so I must use humility and surrender in order to connect with God and seek his will for me and others as I trudge the road to happy destiny each day.
ReplyDeleteAnne love when you wrote "i must use humility and surrender in order to connect with God." Humility is the key that unlocks the door to the grace of God...Thank you...Armand
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