Hope For Today

The experience of life outside the will and care of God is helplessness and frustration when trials and temptations come our way.  The good news is that when we respond to God’s gracious offer of new life in relationship with Him, we become His beloved children and all God’s resources are made available to us.  That’s what Step 3 of the 12 Steps is all about.

In a world where people believe many things – including some who believe there is no god – how do I know there is a power greater than myself?  How do I know that God has any interest in restoring me to sanity or even more important, has the ability to do so?  Our questions are valid and welcome.  We’re not the first to ask them and we won’t be the last.

We’re reflecting on the 12 Steps of AA and how they open a window for us to recognize and receive the goodness of God.  Today we look at Step Two: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. The harsh reality is that we need God’s help to even come to know and believe what’s true.  One man who needed help said to Jesus, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”  He was speaking what so many of us find in our hearts.

Why do we continue to do things our own way when it obviously isn’t working?  Doing life on our own without God has led us to empty, lonely, and shame-filled places. That’s what Step 1 of the 12 Steps reminds us: Step One – We admitted that we were powerless over our dependencies and that our lives had become unmanageable.

It is a profound moment when we come to our senses and realize we are powerless and that our lives have become unmanageable.  It’s not meant to be one of hopelessness but rather a moment of letting go and turning our focus somewhere new for solutions to our life’s problems.

We will face difficulties in this life, but the perspective of eternity with God in heaven, can help us get through tough times.

Life is journey and the path before us has many unexpected things, including obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. We do have difficult times, even times of weeping. God’s way is for us to be blessed no matter what we encounter. 

We are not just insignificant no-bodies running around without purpose from the day we are born until the day we die. God has gifted each of us to do good and He wants to live in us today with power and love to accomplish those good things.

Jesus believes that human beings have influence.  You and I were created to bring comfort and support and assistance to others on our life journey and to experience goodness for ourselves as we do.

While it may be a challenge, it is true that God will help us when we choose to stop the cycle of insults with kindness and God promises that we will be blessed.

Living with God in our complicated world often presents difficult challenges such as: waiting for something we feel desperately in need of right now; not retaliating with anger when someone harms us; living with less when we could scam our way into having more; facing the consequences of revealing a difficult truth. In spite of the immediate pain we may feel, God promises that we will be blessed when we make the right choice and do the right thing.

God blesses those who work for peace.  We all want to live in God’s blessing so let’s give ourselves to working for peace today.