The 2nd Step in AA and in all 12 step recovery programs says:
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
This sounds simple to me, yet it is a great challenge because I am so 'strong-willed'. The book of James 4:10 (NLT) says: When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. This admission of dependence is an ongoing struggle for me as the consequences of my addiction are fading and 'things are better' on so many different levels. How can I live in daily dependence? How can I 'loosen the grip' on my life and allow God to seize control? ... For me, it is to stay 'plugged in' to recovery groups, live a life of accountability and to seek God daily. I often fall short in these areas, but attempt to 'pick myself back up' and continue on down the road because I need God's grace (the Power greater than myself)... not to just overcome addiction(s), but to 'truly live' and fulfill a purpose. This is why the PROGRAM is so important...because it is a solution that is based on 'daily dependence on God'. Should I ever stop the program because I am no longer consciously aware of addiction (via cravings or obsessions)? NO !!! This is His 'prescription' that will give me access to the grace and a healthy spiritual condition. In addition, the nature of addiction is such that our brains will play tricks on us in order to promote disfunction. Gerald May says, "A fundamental mind trick of addiction is focusing attention on willpower. In very complicated ways, the mind asserts that it in fact can control the behavior...it even encourages making resolutions to stop. It knows such resolutions are likely to fail, and when they do, the addictive behavior will have a stronger foothold than ever."
I am in need of Grace... past, present and future - and only His grace can 'restore me to sanity'. Please, Lord, help me to never forget...
Lane
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3 comments:
We're all in desperate need of grace!Jesus promises future grace, he promises to be with us always.
Ahhhhhh.Grace!
Two edged sword of the church.
Grace is a (wink, wink, nod, nod) excuse for me to keep on sinning....the Battle cry being, "WE ARE UNDER GRACE NOT THE LAW!".
Or Grace....a force, a power found in the person of Jesus who empowers the powerless to be the very thing they cannot.....sober.
God help us all!
mb
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age... Titus 2:11-12
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