acting on your higher powers will

[Montauktammy]

Hi Tammy I am an addict 02/21-02/27
How do you know when you are acting on your higher powers will and not you own? how dose your will differ from your higher powers will?

I know my will is forceful and harsh, God's will is never hurtful or self-seeking God's will for me is to love others they way I want to be loved.

[gegeevolved]

Well at this point in my recovery, and after doing some step work step 11 teaches me that at some point in my recovery my will and god's will start to align and coincide with each other, however in the begining my sponsor taught me that there are three spiritual principles that are indispensable, honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness, they work hand in hand and as long as I practiced these principles and recognize that god's will is for me first and foremost for me not to use drugs and the he loves and cares for me and I can no longer blame people, places, things, nor my disease for my actions today and that I recognize that it is my responsibility to do the next right thing then god will reveal to me over time his true will for my life.

[Montauktammy]

Thank you

[mellotripp]

That is exactly what the whole recovery program is about, it is trying to help us do God's will. When I do my own will and then hurt for it, it is God's will that I learn from the hurt so I do not make the same mistake again, when I do my own will and get away with anything, it is God's will that I do His. This is a sensitive topic because there are so many right answers as well as wrong. Here I must take every individual circumstance and weigh it out to the my most honest ability.

[JohnDaniels]

I don't know for a fact, absoultely, or positively that I am doing Gods will and that is why I have to have "faith". Sometimes my faith is stronger than other times. Sometimes it even seems to be tested. I don't mean "tested" in the literal sense. I really don't believe my Higher Power "tests" me just for His own amusement. My faith is more than just a word with a definition. For me it is something that has tempered me and taught me patience and trust. It is something which has came as a result of taking certain actions.

My faith has been strengthened many times throughout the years by something called "the 11th hour". I can't remember how many times in my life where the solution to a problem has came at the 11th hour after I ran out of my own answers.

How do I know the difference between Gods will and my will? One way I can get an idea of this is by asking myself, "Would I be willing to present myself and my actions to God and would God approve of this?" But that would usually be in situations where my morals and behaviors would be invloved, for the most part.

One example of how I can get an idea of the difference between Gods will and my own will is this situation:

Several years ago I was in the process of setting up a non-profit foundation which would help the blind by training Guide Dogs. I ran up against some of the legal aspects of setting up the non-profit foundation, which I had no knowledge of as to the solutions.

I believe that if I am doing all I can do for myself and have ran out of answers when I am really up against it, then God will do for me what I cannot do for myself. I learned that from my first sponsor early in AA. It sure sounded good, but when it came to actually living it, that was another thing. It is something that requires first me giving up the fight, accepting the fact that I have no more power and no more solutions fo the problem. The rest that follows after that is pretty easy because it is something that I have no power over and is a solution that comes from a power greater than myself - God. The solutions are such a relief, it is as though a big weight has been lifted off my back and I am always filled with gratitude and a warmth inside. Then I am able to move forward with my project.

The thing that happened in my process of setting up the non-profit foundation was how I had ran into some of the standard legal issues and I found myself in unfamiliar territory. I gave up. I don't mean I gave up and turned it over to God and prayed for a solution. I mean I gave up and said, "Screw it!" I had been banging my head against the wall and was coming up without any answers to the particular problem no matter how hard I worked at it. I was really frustrated. I was going to throw the entire project out the window.

When I gave up and said "Screw it!" I really gave it up. In a minute or two the doorbell rang. I answered it and it was a man asking for directions in our neighborhood. I invited him in and we started small-talk while I drew him a little map for his directions he asked for. He saw all the foundation papers I had strung all over the table and he mentioned how he was familiar with them. He told me how he was a lawyer who had set up a similar non-profit foundation just like what we were trying do do. He told me how he specializes in this area. He just happened to be in our neighborhood handling a closing on a re-finance mortgage on a house.

After we had a nice discussion about the Marine Corps, I asked him how much he'd charge me to set up the non-profit foundation. He said he needed his dog trained and perhaps we could just trade our services. So there was the solution at the 11th hour. I felt as though a big weight had been lifted off my back once again and I felt so grateful. That is one of countless incidents in my life of "the 11th Hour". Talking about it this way always makes me feel good about it.

On my own self knowledge I have no power and my answers to problems are very limited. But with Gods power of picking up when I have ran out of steam, things get done that would not normally get done.

I am not one to just beat myself up by emphasizing my character defects. I know I have them. God knows it... "I know it, you know it, and the American people know it!" Hehehe. There is a reason we take our inventories and it is not to live in a state of constantly beating ourselves up for the rest of our lives. It is to admit out defects of character to God and to another human being in order to get past it, and to become better human beings.

Sometimes when I have given up and I am waiting at the 11th Hour, nothing happens. I often think that just might be when God does not approve and His answer is "No". I have pretty much learned when not to force something when I have ran up against a brick wall and after prayer and turning it over to God, nothing happens. That is time to give it up and move on. Perhaps it might be something that would be a hinderance to my sobriety. It might be there are other problems and issues involved which I am totally unaware of which would surface later and be some really bad news. I often think that God removes things from my life which might be a hinderance to my sobriety and He often adds thing to my life that are helpful to my sobriety at just the right time.

I certainly do not have all the answers by any means in spiritual matters. I do however believe that I have been especially graced these past 5 years or so. This is the stage or a level of awareness, mentioned in the 12 Promises where it tells us, "We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves".

How do I know this to be happening? - All I have to do is look around me. The type of life I have today is something that I am just not smart enough to have arrived at on my own self knowledge and for Gods love and guidance to this place in life now I am especially grateful.

[Humblepie]

1 Timothy 4:4
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

Mellotripp you said it. "There are so many right answers".

Gods will for me is to love others as well as myself.

[Montauktammy]

I don't know for a fact, absoultely, or positively that I am doing Gods will and that is why I have to have "faith". Sometimes my faith is stronger than other times.

I don't always know what God's will is for me, but for the most part I know what it is not!
Trying to make to wrong thing feel right, is not God's will for me, sometimes doing the right thing dosen't feel good and it will be painful but I got to have faith if I do the next right thing the next right thing will happen.

[Dan B]

What is God's will for me. I strugle with that one today and having faith that if I do the next right thing the next right thing will happen. I believe that I was doing the right thing truly loving and caring and letting her know that. I do miss her alot how to the point it is painful. I am confused as to what the next right thing is. It seems to me know matter what direction I go it is all painful.LOVE DAN B

[Montauktammy]

God's will for me is not always PAIN FREE through pain there is growth This 2 shall pass

[billybob]

Originally Posted by Montauktammy

Hi Tammy I am an addict 02/21-02/27
How do you know when you are acting on your higher powers will and not you own? how dose your will differ from your higher powers will?

I know my will is forceful and harsh, God's will is never hurtful or self-seeking God's will for me is to love others they way I want to be loved.

I can say for me is that in active addiction was not Gods will for me.
Any time I would try to fix anything as I would do so it never would go as planed. So if i say its Gods will not mine it seamse to put me in to a better way to look at things. I am in both programs and if you can read page 417 in the AA big book. If you have time read the hole chapter.
Acceptance was the answer.