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." Reliance upon God is the basis of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous; humility is the key which unlocks the door to the grace of God. The Twelve Steps of A.A. move us from developing a faith in God to trusting in God and finally a true reliance upon God in every area of our life. This relationship with Him allows us to transcend the travails of life in such a way that we are not self-centered and caught in our own needs and problems. Rather, we are trusting in the will of God as it unfolds in our life - freeing us to be open to the world around us and sensitive to the needs of others.
Written by Armand
Michael C.
ReplyDeleteDefiance was the manifestation, inward and outward, of my self-centered fear. The word God was bigger than the word Fear. But in reality, it was Fear that propelled my thoughts and deadened my spirit. Alcohol initially served as a relief then as a careless tyrant, the final master of my defiance. To state that the Big Book program of recovery revived my spirit, exchanged my will for the will of The Power Within me, and gradually transmuted my defiance into reliance would define my experience. It was only by integrating all Twelve Steps into my life that I was able to understand the comfort and power of Trust and the certainty of real belief through real reliance.
Michael love when you wrote 'alcohol initially served as a relief than as a ceaseless tyrant."...thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteWrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and but not least, gluttony. Each represents the essence of my unrestrained human nature. All find their foundation in a self-worship that perverts the otherwise healthy instincts that God has provided for us to survive and flourish in this world. None can be completely abandoned by anything short of a miracle. What is impossible for mankind is remarkably easy for God. The former was the bucket of muddy water I carried through the doors of AA, and were it not for a crippling and overwhelming sense of desperation I would never have crouched to enter through that low and narrow 12 Step gate.
ReplyDeleteTruly; God Himself had been walking beside me all along, even during the most depraved events of my prodigal journey. All the while God lovingly reached 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 as He beaconed to became the Lord of my life. The 12 Steps and fellowship of AA brought into crystal clarity the faith hope and love that is the grace of the Eternal Author's gift, freely an lovingly 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. I am yet no perfect practitioner or receiver of these virtues that are the essence of the serenity He provides… But just for today, I continue to pray that I will more clearly see His Presence in this world; in circumstances, in other 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 provided by You so that I will experience more of the wonder of the grace and goodness that only You can provide.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic..
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic the transformation that you write about is available and possible for each and everyone...Thank you...Armand
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