In the Third Step we made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. The Fourth Step is the next step in the process, the purpose of which is to find out what it is about me that is keeping the grace of God from my life. It is through the grace of God that the healing occurs. Many spiritual traditions include a deep and thorough look at the past to discover the truth of what is uncovered. Alcoholics Anonymous is no different. As we work through the Fourth Step we may get the sense that the completed program of Alcoholics Anonymous will allow us, possibly for the first time, to be living our lives as God originally intended us to - free of the manifestation in our behavior of resentment, fear and anxiety. We will then become the human beings God created us to be and we will maximize our human potential, as the manifestation of our human nature is perfected in the will of God.
Written By Armand
I never really knew why I drank. But I did know that it was bad for me, against me, unnatural for me, somehow not OF me. It never occurred to me that I had a deep spiritual sickness. In the program of recovery, I learned that I sought spirits in a vain effort to locate and awaken my spirit. The Twelfth Step taught me that the main purpose of AA was to lead me to a spiritual awakening. So yes, The Fourth Step was my opportunity to find out what it was about me that prevented my spirit from being alive within me. I found that unknown and unwarranted fears were the root cause of my spiritual alienation. And that they had to be removed in order for me to find the peace of mind I was born to know. On my own, this was an impossibility. It was only by integrating all Twelve Steps into my life in such a way that they would become my life that I found The Power Within me. That Power is the only antidote to my fear-based spiritual malady and it is available to me in plentitude. The Fourth Step properly framed the problem. All of The Steps incorporated into my life one day at a time defined the solution.
ReplyDeleteMichael loved when you wrote "fear based spiritual malady." Ian't it the truth?...Thank you...Armand
DeleteSteps 3 through 7 are so dynamically intertwined it's hard for me to either intellectually or spiritually separate them. In Step 3, I made a decision. In Step 4, I begin to act upon it. The subject of the inventory was to seek out the location of my moral compass and the direction the needle points. If I am fearless, I'll admit it's been buried in the belly of the beast for a long time. A very, very long time... And like all things buried it had to be exhumed in order to surrender it to the God of my understanding in the very next Step.
ReplyDeleteHere I confirm my entire being was caked with the detritus of a misspent life. So much so It was beyond my ability to restore. A miracle was called for. In Step 5, I prayerfully surrendered it to the Master who gracefully cleansed it white as snow and placed my heart in His as He placed His heart in mine. In Step 6, I realized that without constantly seeking out His grace and power I was unable to will away my own will. In Step 7, I asked Him to relieve me of my shortcomings and sinful nature through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. There I remain to this day, surrounded, directed and protected by His loving presence.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic as you say " hard to separate" but one thing is clear that without the grace of God I am lost in the wilderness...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteOnce I made a decision to turn my will and life over to the care of God in step 3 and turned to writing inventory. I needed to let go of the resentments that I carried deep within me. As I write truth is revealed, anger lessens and I become willing to share what I have written in my 5th step. I wrote my resentments, fears and sex inventory.
ReplyDeleteI ask God to remove my fears and direct my attention to what he would have me be and pray for those eco are perhaps spiritually sick. I had to become willing to look more deeply with myself a d ask for to remove what was blocking me and keeping me stuck in the anger and fear. I became willing to let go, to heal and forgive. To own my part and to release others.
The inventory was mine. I can’t change another. I can pray to God to change me. To have confidence in my faith and believe that god has forgiven me and I can forgive myself and others.
Jessica for centuries spiritual exercises have included an honest assessment AA is no different...Thank you...Armand
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