Character Defect: Not Following Through

 

In “How It Works” we read and hear the words read regularly in meetings:  Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program.” (Big Book of AA page 58).  Anyone who has made an honest attempt at recovery knows how much hard work is involved.  What gives us encouragement and hope is the knowledge that many people who do the work, succeed. 

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.  (Romans 15:4 NIV)

Clearing the wreckage of our past and rebuilding our character and our relationships isn’t accomplished in a day.  We can contribute to that goal every day, for sure, but effort over time is what is required to meet our long-term objective.


We can know all sorts of things about God as we come to believe that He is a power greater than ourselves who can restore us to sanity.  We can even make a decision to turn our will and our life over to His care.  The real test of our desire for recovery is the follow-through of putting God’s word and the steps into practice one day at a time.  Some days will be relatively easy and other days will require every bit of strength and commitment we can muster.


Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
(Romans 12:12, Galatians 6:9 NLT)

Who of us enjoys doing a searching, fearless, and moral inventory and then admitting the exact nature of our wrongs?  It’s painful to come before God and ask for the removal of our character defects.  Making a list of those we’ve harmed and setting out to make amends to them is threatening for most of us.  However, God’s promise and the experience strength and hope of those who have gone before us tells us that, as we follow the path and do things one step at a time, God will get us to our goal.


Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I often want the “quick fix” and find it hard to follow through on the challenging parts of becoming the person You created me to be.  Help me to fix my eyes on the goal and please strengthen me to do the work required of me each day.  Amen

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