Partners in Hope

Thank goodness we are not expected to know everything the first day we come into recovery. We learn as we go. We do that through studying and observing; through listening to others; through putting healthy principles into action; and even through our mistakes. So, where do we start if we are to grow wise?

When we come to Step 4 in the 12-Step program we are asked to focus on ourselves and make a searching and fearless moral inventory. Taking responsibility for our actions is a great first step in the right direction.

If we decide to proceed with what God tells us to, no matter how incredible it might seem, we will experience the joy of seeing God work in ways we never thought possible.

These are familiar words for many of us: 1. We admitted we were powerless over our dependency and that our life had become unmanageable. 2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. We turned our will and our life over to the care of God as we understood Him. In shorter terms it’s: “I can’t. God can.  I’ll let Him.” What does that look like for ordinary folks like us today?

Each day is new – filled with unknowns and challenges but also filled with possibilities and the comfort and encouragement we need from knowing that God is with us and goes before us into this day. God sees things we don’t.  God prepares things that we don’t even know need to be prepared and God promises to take us safely through this day. That’s the confidence we can hold as we face today.

There are many things we wonder about whether they are God’s will or not.  We want certain things.  We’d like suffering and poverty to end, wars to cease, families to reconcile and so on. What is God’s will in the middle of each particular set of circumstances for this time?  When we don’t know for sure, we simply entrust ourselves to God’s care and ask, as we’re instructed in the Lord’s Prayer to pray