Higher Power

I have carefully tried to layout in the first couple of installments of this set of thoughts i have been revealing the mechanical side of addiction recovery. I feel that it is important to establish the fact that although I will be discussing the "HIGHER POWER" decision and importance in this process, that there is a huge responsibility for the recovering addict to manage his own life with help.

Here is the loaded question, Can one find lasting sobriety without God's hand? My answer is definitively NO. It wont happen, I go on to say that i am not looking for an argument, I am speaking from personal experience...and personal research. Of the couple hundred men I have studied and my own family experience, I have yet to see an individual find lasting soberiety without the hand of God intervening and restructuring the Heart and mind of the person. NOT ONCE have I seen anyone establish their own plan and grind out a teeth clenching "I am gonna stop even if it kills me" attitude. It is a recipe for failure to not seek the comfort of others and stop believing your own damaged thinking.

There is magic that happens when one decides to trust others and trust God to re-invent their thinking and look at life with new parameters and direction. It is pointless to think you can perform surgery on yourself without making a bigger mess than when you started. I have watched this phenomenon first hand...the individual who says they are going to do this for their family, or for the courts and alot of times for themselves on there own set of rules and adjustments, it always ends in a sad failure.

So, what I am saying is that true recovery is to know Christ , give him your mess of a life......let him surround you with people who care and begin to change your thinking as only God can do. He wont stop you from going in the Liquor store, but he can fill you with a Holy Spirit that will convict you and teach you to discipline yourself. He wont stop you from going back into your neighbor hood and hang out with your "old" friends, but the Holy Spirit will tell you it is a very poor decision, choose again. He wont stop you from doing anything...you have free will which he will not violate, but He will give you the tools to live a happy, productive and disciplined life if you leave the decision up to Him. I know very few people who have had complete deliverance and are Free, I know none that have done it without a Higher Power. In my case ...I gave my life to Christ....wanted to change , left the decisions of who my playfriends were to be, where my playground was to be and what my new playthings were to be and he delivered me to a safe place, I did nothing but submit to the people God put in my life and trusted them, and I am forever grateful. Chose God and chose right.