Part of the definition of belief is to Trust. Trust is the key component of belief. When I was a teenager I broke my relationship with God. It was a relationship that had developed through the early religious training I received in Catholic grade school. The fact that I broke my relationship with God did not change that I had always believed in God. I believed in God even while I was living the life of an alcoholic -- in utter pandemonium. My behaviors had nothing to do with my belief in Him. It was my lack of trust in Him which led me astray from a relationship with Him for so long. Trust, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is "assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something". To have such certainty for the Supreme Power requires humility, exactly that which the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous gives us. The incorporation of the steps of such a program into our lives begins the break down of our egos, so that humility (and all the many benefits from it) can seep into our lives. After some time we actually develop a hunger for it. I have learned in my experience with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that humility is the key which unlocks the door to the grace of God. It is only through this grace that we remain sober and recovered from our addictions and the manifestation of our character defects. Our egos must be deflated and our human desires subrogated to the will of God. Belief is necessary but trust is essential.
TRUST IS THE KEY COMPONENT OF BELIEF.
Written By Armand
ReplyDelete"We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity"...Even from the earliest moments of my having attained the "age of reason," knowledge of the will of God had never been a problem, for at that tender age I still had a conscience. Trusting that by following His will I would have a joyful and pleasant life experience however was an entirely different story. I simply didn't have the desire nor required will power to delay my overwhelming appetite for instant gratification, often at the expense of others. Naturally, 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 an illusion of 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 that haunted every waking moment of my life. That is, until I discovered alcohol... 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...
Self obsession 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 very propellent that ultimately initiated the desperate cry to the very Person of God whom I had rejected and Who's principles l had grown to despise.
In one spontaneous plea for deliverance, birthed from the belly of my soul, hopelessness became hope, gilt dissolved in mercy and forgivness and shame was swallowed by the love and acceptance of the One True and Living Father of Light. My testimony is now inextricably joined together with the founders and all others outside the rooms 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 humbles themselves and musters the mere willingness to believe. Trust is important, but this pilgrim would never have come to trust were it not for God's gift of grace that made His mission clear. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2: 8-9). To anyone who has ears to hear be of good cheer! For He stands at the doorway of your heart right now - and knocks with love and compassion beyond telling. His one desire is to come into your heart and bring you peace, and provide His eternal comfort forever and ever. Amen...
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic In the very act of humbling oneself to the Lord Trust is displayed as grace us received...Thank you...Armandd
DeleteMichael C.
ReplyDeleteOver time the word Trust has become among the most vital words in my recovery from alcohol and from myself. It was in Step Two that I learned of its direct link to my willingness, belief and faith. By trusting all Twelve Steps and then integrating each one into my life, my life was transformed from hopeless to hopeful, from negative to positive, from purposeless to impactful. Somehow the acquisition of Trust was not a matter of the mind - anything but. Instead it was a matter of action, the action of living in the Big Book solution whereby a spiritual awakening was the objective. It was action that led to Trust, and from Trust to the life I was born to love. A life in which I can trust myself (greatest gift) but only through the certainty of the presence of The Power Within me. I am certain.
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Michael I agree that a life surrendered to the will of God is a life that one loves to luve... Thank you...Armand
DeleteLive.
ReplyDeleteI am continually surrendering and have the willingness and desire to fully trust and let go. I am seeking to rely more deeply on God. I am learning to trust and truly believe that he is guiding me and directing me so that I can be who he has intended for me to be.
ReplyDeleteGod, I trust in you. When I trust and be still I can find peace and comfort.
Jessica