God does not require that we be successful, only that we be faithful. --Mother Teresa
It is probable we have never equated success with faith. Being successful meant accomplishing worthy goals and receiving the expected praise. We may have even considered that relying on faith to help us was a cop out. Fortunately, so much about how we interpret life has changed since joining this journey through recovery.
In Step Three we learn that God wants us to have faith. We are coming to see, in fact, that acting as if we have faith begins to feel like faith. Coming to believe that God's only expectation is that we turn within for guidance makes every circumstance far less threatening.
Practicing faith promises that we will begin to feel successful in all our experiences because we are walking through them peacefully, trusting fully that God is at hand. Believing in God, being truly faithful, can be the greatest success of our lives.
I can be faith-filled today if I turn my life and my will over to the care of God. I will remind myself of this every time I get in the "driver's seat."
I've never understood why some people consider faith a crutch. Either God exists or he doesn't. If he does, then I'd be crazy not to take his plans into account when ordering my life. if he doesn't, then faith in him isn't going to give me any practical support. In any other area of life, people always say that stubbornly holding a false belief makes things more difficult, not less. And if God is there, and we can glean some idea of his wishes for us from sources of old, then our lives are actually made more challenging because of the added expectations and standards of behaviour.
Don't want to get too sectarian on anybody, just my $0.02.
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Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's.
Hi bill recovered alcoholic, all thru this book that my sponsor tells me to study it reads of how to get faith . My experience shows me that I can pray and meditate all I want but if I don't get my butt off the couch. And self sacrifice ( doing something that I do not want to do or giving up some thing that I love ) and go out and get some 12 in .the intensive work ( prayer and meditation inventory and humbly asking him to remove all the crap that blocks me ) and go serve him . My live has true meaning and purpose today . So I do the unselfish and contructive action by giving this away to the desperate one who is always there when god see s fit. And really the rest are just batting practice. To hone my experience . I still have to be of maximum service and increase daily . Faith in action me having the faith that picking one up would lead to another drunk never produce the power for me not to pick it up.but me doing the work so my faith grows on a daily that is faith in action. Talk is cheap like my thinking. This practical program of action works.thank god for a 12 step program .feeling character doing the next right thing got me drunk on the way . My thinking always tried to kill me . Can't not go to the problem for the solution that never worked me. I am a real one of the hopeless viariety , the heart breaker the one who has been puzzling you . Hell I was puzzling me incomprehensable demorilization. Always the results .
