A Glimmer of Hope

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

Addiction can be a blessing in disguise. There are some people who had their lives all planned out; then, initially, choosing to use a substance became a problem.

It could have been something our Higher Power wanted us to go through before we reached our goal. The story of Job was of a wealthy man who was tested by God and Satan. He lost everything – family, finances, and health – because Satan asked God’s permission to wreak havoc. Job asked friends and God about the reasoning for the suffering. Eventually, because of his faith in God, God blessed him with more than he originally had at the end.

Relieved from our obsession, our lives unaccountably transforms, we came to believe in a Higher Power, and most of us begin to talk of God (12 Steps and 12 Traditions) after the First Step. Our sanity has become the forefront of our everyday lives. Hope for a life of recovery brings forth change in our beliefs. Our Higher Power, whomever we choose it to be, is not to distract us but to guide us away from destruction. Free will is us having the choice to trust our Higher power while having the awareness of our surroundings. Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” The Fellowships is a useful power greater than yourself if you work the suggestions given to you through the message of another's story or your sponsor’s suggestions.

Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD, He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Humility takes away the pain; gives us a new meaning to life. What we lacked – hope, help, and trust – is gained through believing everything will be better if we truly want it. Wisdom takes the place of repeating the past. Turning over a new leaf is stopping in your tracks to look up. Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” Here in the present, surrendering to God’s will He has for you, having a soundness of mind, anything is possible.

What is your chosen service? That power to keep your recovery intact? An open mind is limitless. We all know now, from Luke 21:34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap.”

Don’t quit before the miracle happens.