Latest / Sober Readings / Finding "A Reason To Believe"
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Hey everyone, welcome back to Sober Readings. Today is Wednesday, the 2nd of September. Let's get started today with the Serenity Prayer. God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections Finding a Reason to Believe. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development. That's from As Bell Sees It, page one hundred seven one. A line from a song goes, And I look to find a reason to believe. It reminds me that at one time I was not able to find a reason to believe that my life was alright. Even though my life had been saved by my coming to ⁓ AA, three months later I went out and drank again. Someone told me, You don't have to believe. Aren't you willing to believe that there is a reason for your life? Even though you may not know yourself what that reason is? Or that you may not sometimes know the right way to behave. When I saw how willing I was to believe there was a reason for my life, then I could start to work on the steps. Now when I begin with I am willing, I'm using the key that leads to action, honesty, and an openness to a higher power moving through my life. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day. September two AA thought for the day. Outline the program of action to new prospects, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and why you are now endeavoring to help them. It is important for them to realize that your attempt to pass this on to them plays a vital part in your own recovery. The more hopeless they feel, the better. They will be more likely to follow your suggestions. Tell them about the fellowship of AA, and if they show interest, lend them a copy of your big book. So ask yourself, can I tell the AA story to another alcoholic? The meditation for the day. You should try to stand aside and let God work through you. You should try not to block him off by your own efforts or prevent his spirit working through you. God desires your obedient service and your loyalty to the ideals of the new life you are seeking. If you are loyal to God, he will give you protection against mistakes. His spirit will plan for you. And secure for you a sufficiency of all spiritual help. You will have true victory and real success if you will put yourself in the background and let God work through you. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may not interfere with the working of God's Spirit in me and through me. I pray that I may give it full reign. Today's reading from Keep It Simple, Daily Meditations for 12-step beginnings and renewal. Except when to do so would injure them or others. And that is the second half of the ninth step. We have to be careful when we make amends. We must think about people's well-being. Can we help them heal by being direct with them? Or would this hurt them again? At times this means not making direct amends. Sometimes it's better to make some other kind of amends. If you're not sure how to make amends to someone, ask for advice from your sponsor and your group and pray. Over time, you'll know if making direct amends is the right thing to do. Remember, step nine means we're responsible for our actions. In recovery, our actions can be healing. Healing takes place when we love ourselves and others. And love is what heals us. And today's prayer for the day out of this book, Higher Power, I've hurt people in the past. Please use me now to help those people heal. Give me good judgment, courage, and good timing. And the action for today. I will never be able to make direct amends to some people. I will think of other kinds of amends I can make to them. I can pray daily for their healing. And for today's final reading, we'll go back to As Bill Sees It. We're reading from page seven. The Realm of the Spirit. In ancient times, material progress was painfully slow. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research, and invention was almost unknown. In the realm of the material, men's minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas. Some of the contemporaries of Columbus thought a round earth preposterous. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies. Are not some of us just as biased and unreasonable about the realm of the spirit as were the ancients about the realm of the material? And that's on page fifty one of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or foreboding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, To all men. And that is on page forty six of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. And that's it for today's readings. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show and you'd like to help me share the message, click the like and the share button. And if you'd like to be a guest reader on my show, send me an email at soberreadings with Scott at gmail dot com. And also if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket, just go to my website, soberreadings.com and Click the donate button. So again, thank you so much for listening today. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other, and remember just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day, everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.