The importance of Step Three is that a decision is made (in fact it is a final choice) for our thought process to no longer be propelled by our human instincts (our self will) but rather by the will of God through inspiration. Inspiration is defined as, "the thoughts of God implanted in the mind and soul of man."The Third Step is, "We mad e a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." In the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous in the chapter "How It Works" it states, "The first requirement (in taking the Third Step) is that we be convinced that any life run on self will can hardly be a success." As stated prior to this, "Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful. Without help it is to much for us. But there is One who has all power -that One is God. May you find Him now!" The chapter goes further in stating, "Selfishness - self-centerednes! That, we think, is the root of our troubles... So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self will run riot..." Self will is our thought process propelled by our human instincts. In the Big Book it says "above everything we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness and there seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid."
I learned in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that we have three basic instincts, a social, sexual and security instinct. These instincts are God given and necessary for life but in us we can never get enough of what it is we think we need . The great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud defines an instinct as "a bodily need manifested in our thought process." It is there that our character defects exist - but these same defects, which will always exist to some extent in our human nature, cannot possibly be manifested in our behavior when our thought process is propelled by God's will, through inspiration.
Written By Armand
Listening to God for hearing and understanding his will for us was a big obstacle for me long into my sobriety. Whether I prayed, meditated or not, I could not clearly discern what His message is for me. So my sponsor and I went back to basics and read a book together that described how the Oxford Group instructed their associates EXACTLY how to do listen to God. What I discovered was hearing God is a skill we can build in our spiritual life. But like an skill, similar to a muscle, you have to work out the muscle with a workout plan with discipline. So discipline is now the challenge. It is absolutely no surprise the process is compatible with the Big Book of AA. With a sponsor, we first read the instructions and then followed the instructions. Maintenance of our program makes or breaks my sobriety. Bad things continue to come my way but having a specific way or instructions is an unbelievable gift for me. I just need "to bend over and pick up the spiritual tools left at our feet". Working our program with a fellow traveler can make all the difference in the world. We can't live in our own heads even if we went through the 12 steps through the first 164 pages of the BB with a sponsor.
ReplyDeleteJim joy is not the absence of sorrow but the presence of God. A life lived in His will is a life of joy regardless of our present human circumstance... Thank you..Armand
DeleteMichael C.
ReplyDeleteDesperation or Inspiration - what was my choice to be? After decades of sobriety in AA, I’ve learned Big Book recovery from one who learned the same. Like you, I come from a place where nothing and no one is enough. I was the barely-living result of misdirected instincts. Those instincts, as we know, balk at investigation. Only through the Twelve Step integration process have I been enabled to feel the freedom of His Will for me. That feeling is as deeply personal as anything I’ve ever known. The answer to the question rests in my desire to move beyond my fear-damaged human nature to my fearless divine nature as defined by The Power Within me and within all of us. My way produced desperation. But I now know inspiration when I feel it.
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Michael beautiful. inspiration is defined as the thoughts of God (in spirit) implanted in the mind and soul of man...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThe result was nil until we let go absolutely. I have found I need to surrender to the struggle that I create in self-will.
ReplyDeleteMy experience has been to find the willingness to let go of my self-will and to find a way to align my will with the will of God.
To believe and live in faith. I have discovered it is easier to live in the will of God ( faith) then be stuck in my will, demanding things be a certain way. I see that without help, it is too much for me, I need God. In finding God I find strength.
As I find new power flow in, I can enjoy peace of mind and face life successfully. The more I am convinced of his presence, the more I outgrow fear.
Jessica
Jessica the power of the human nature is pervasive but no match for the will of God...Thank you...Armand
DeleteI have found that God's will for me is to lead a life of goodness and to live a life in the spirit, that is to live a moral life and a spiritual life.
ReplyDeleteJohn well said John. Yes spritual life is a life of goodness...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteAs Step's 1 & 2 imply, the initial catalyst for reaching out to the God of my understanding was absolute desperation in that I had exhausted every other known earthly option or avenue that would, or could, extricate me from the dilemma and consequences of a life lived to satisfy my every wayward desire. I had deliberately chosen to live a life in direct opposition to the known will of God whenever my unsated appetites beckoned. Finding myself, by my own design, on the precipice of an eternity in a continuous living hell I found myself finally forced to not only abandon my lifestyle but completely reject every ounce of control over life as I understood it as this new future in Gods hands and plan for me unfolded.
ReplyDeleteThere was no employment of my well honed negotiating skills. No shallow foxhole prayers, only to immediately fall back to my alcohol fueled journey into debauchery once the immediate crisis had passed. This time was different. This alcoholic knew it was an ignominious and eternal death or complete surrender. And as I later learned; that revelation, like a white hot lightning bolt that burst into the core of my being, was a gift from a Loving Father that had not, and will not ever give up on me.
My entire life of rebellion was instantaneously revealed in space and time. Yet, immersed in that encounter with the God of all Eternity was an overwhelming Presence of love and compassion beyond telling. He wasn't asking for all that I was willing to surrender at that time, but the one thing I still wished to hold back... Yet, as Jesus lovingly beckoned, I finally, fatefully spiritually collapsed and surrendered the one thing that had always stood in the way of my redemption, me...
As I pored out my life at His feet, all of the guilt and shame associated with my past was immediately washed away. I was, in the most profound sense reborn. From that point on following the Steps was assured. Not easy... but assured, and has, together with study and inspired implementation of His Word brought me into a time of refreshment and joy of living that is well beyond my wildest dreams. Today, when life reveals some fear inducing perplexity, when the future seems ominous or unsecured, I harken back to that time many years ago when I first surrendered... And was accepted warts and all, by the Person of God through Jesus Christ who recalls to my mind our first encounter and the continuous lyric of that day; "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me... I was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see"..
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.