"God's Will". What tf is it and

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#1

Why tf does it matter to some of you so much with regards to sobriety only, not the other religious stuff.

I have Googled "what is God's will" and there are no definite answers, it is very mercurial. The main thing I get out if it is complete worship of "him" and the expansion of "his kingdom".

Sounds a bit maniacal, but I digress.

My question is only out of curiosity, I assure you, my "search" for a god figure in my life ended many years ago. But I was thinking about it last night at a meeting, when people were going on about "as long as I do God's will and not my own" life is peachy blah blah blah. It made me think about what MY will is. And after examining my will, I have come to the conclusion that my will isn't so bad. I wanna be helpful to people. I wanna be honest. I wanna be free. I don't wanna hurt anyone or anything anymore. My will, WHEN SOBER, is pretty good. It had nothing to do with someone else's purposed will (such as gods) and is pretty unselfish. My will, when using, isn't as terrible(I still don't wanna hurt anyone etc) but is definitely not controlled, healthy and not focused on the other good shĂŽt I mentioned. It's more focused on getting as much as I can and getting by undetected. To me, focusing on what i want/need when sober is very important and admitting and taking responsibility for victories is just as important as taking responsibility for the defeats that were cause by selfish/fear based actions.

So, what does your "will" look like, to you, now, through sober eyeballs? How does it differ from your will when you're using?

Please, no proselytizing. This isn't about that.

Floor is open for comments....

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#2

I tend to agree with this a lot. I am uncomfortable with the idea that my will isn’t “good”. The triangle of self obsession that NA talks about is about a higher powers will being the thing that can lift you from it. The thing is, If I didn’t have some sort of self reliance or will, then I would not be clean. I struggle still with the higher power thing in the rooms. Being clean has allowed me to have an open mind. I respect everyone’s beliefs. No matter what. As long as they aren’t pushed on me to share them. So I hear everything you are saying and I see what you mean.

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#3

I personally use. the old adage that GOD is just another way of saying Good, Orderly, Direction.

I personally don’t pray to anyone. I simply say out loud that “Tomorrow I will be a better man than today”.

O try and remember that the Big Books were written almost 5 generations ago. The wording is going to be of the time. The actions are refections of the positive of the times. I just give it a break.

The themes hold true though. The steps are but a plan of action for better living. They still hold up…in the order written…for the original purpose.

I take pride in my ability to celebrate those with different beliefs and paths while doing my thing daily head held high.

Try not to pick the literature to death. The books are wonderfully imperfect…just like us.

If and when someone says there is ONE CORRECT way to do anything…smile..and politely exit the conversation. It’s not a chat you want nor need to belong in.

Sticking around to debate is just as bad as the original ONE WAY topic.

Be around like minded people and this will almost never come up at all.

Love ya kiddo,
Brent S

#4

When I use (used) my will was similar to my sober will, but mixed with getting/trying to keep a chemical fix, processing wild emotions on a wild goose chase to nowhere, trying to figure out what was wrong with me while making a mess of things and building more regret. It was like looking at my purpose through a warped glass, or kaleidoscope that was half covered in refuse.

My sober will, as it develops, is to love well and appreciate all I have. Not rainbows and unicorn farts, but actually living in a way that is good for my holistic health, and for that of those I encounter in my daily life. I really want to learn to stop being a jerrk for example, which takes work and is worth it. I also want to help my son grow and develop into a glad, hopeful, determined, strong young man who will influence the world for good, one person at a time, one smile or conversation at a time.

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#5

Thank you all for your comments

#6

I think of gods will as my conscience. When my behavior doesn’t align with my conscience (values, morals, ethics, etc) that’s is when I feel like I am following my will instead of gods will. But to me god is just a word. Just a placeholder. It’s not religious and nothing would change for me if I used any other arbitrary word.
I use god because it’s just easier for me at meetings. I can’t be bothered to defend my religious beliefs or lack there of. If I say god or higher power or some variation it quiets the Karens. And in the same sense when someone goes off about Jesus or creator or whatever words they choose I just let them have their thing. If someone gets preachy towards me as far as I’ll go is to say that the gods of our understandings are different. Nobody has proselytized me after that.

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#7

It’s a good thing to think about.. will. I imagine God’s will as a perspective that allows me to come “off the hook” a little bit. I ask (pray) and I meditate (listen).

This gives me permission to investigate the way I am feeling, to pause before reacting, to pose questions directly, and to trust my intuition. It allows me to have spiritual curiosity where religion never has.

When I am utilizing my own will, I try to control every aspect of a given situation, I frustrate my ability to be useful to people, and am disappointed at outcomes that aren’t what I expect them to be.

When I am moving from a space of spirituality, paying attention to intuition, pausing before responding, and letting go of control/outcomes… things just work out. I’m not usually upset or disappointed, and most often, I’ve been of use to others.

I don’t know if I believe in “God” as an imposing figure who is chomping at the bit to judge and condemn humanity. I think human beings are great story tellers who sometimes shift the narrative in order to assert social norms.

I do believe in spiritual processes that enable healing and progress. Who cares if some people choose to call those processes “prayer” or “God’s will”? If it allows them peace and serenity, it’s legit.

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#8

It’s a reasonable question.
The way I see it is if I am staying sober
doing no harm.
Contributing to life by helping others.
And avoiding selfishness which propelled my disease then Im doing Gods will.

I struggled with the HP thing too. Bottom line is this, I was in a bad bad place when I finally decided to give the AA suggestions a try. Taking them without reservation has given me a life beyond my imagining. I don’t need to know the “why” just the how. This is not because I am incurious, quite the contrary. It is because I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Although sometimes I still do.

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#9

Really good comments, keep them coming. Thank you

#10

My main issue is, god will come down to help my sobriety, but won't lift a finger to fix kids with cancer? Or come down and put a stop to this mindless unending cycle of war? Is god just not powerful enough to do anything more than deal with my sobriety? What, when he created the universe he left it all on the table and is now just a stagnating middle manager?

But, I don't tend to think about religion. Ever. The concept of god wasn't introduced to me until I was 10. By that point, everything like Santa was long revealed to be fake, so the god thing just wasn't going to land with me. And then, I just never cared, even while at Catholic schools. And getting a ruler to the knuckles for asking questions didn't do anything to convince me I should be thinking about any of it.

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#11

It’s about choices we make better ones when we live by some spiritual principles and connect to something bigger like the universe for instance and everything around us! We care more for ourselves and others we are our higher selves connecting and being led not controlling our own lives. The opposite of addiction is connection. This is my belief but still working on it! :heart::pray:t2::heart:

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#12

i find your post and comments left very interesting.
Im not sure how to respond to this myself. I like to think “Gods Will” is my will. it’s just another name of it. Truly we are the ones deciding to not use. Everyday I choose to be sober. Having a will is hard. The will of God shall not be higher than myself. I am sober. Not god. I truly don’t understand Christians and how they believe all those stories but i don’t judge and if that’s what you think than ok.

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#13

Gods will is doing the next right thing. Gods will is keeping your side of the street clean. Gods will is being 100% honest at all costs.

#14

That's my will too. Maybe I'm God.

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#15

We are all God to a certain degree if we are made in his image. And my will is actually the exact opposite of what I described. By nature, I’m a liar, a cheat, a thief, and a downright scumbag. It takes all of me to do the opposite of my actual nature. Therefore when I’m doing all the right things I believe that is God‘s will for me. 

#16

God's will

"The relief of 'letting go and letting God' helps us develop a life that is worth living."

In our addiction, we were afraid of what might happen if we didn't control everything around us. Many of us made up elaborate lies to protect our use of drugs. Some of us manipulated everyone around us in a frenzied attempt to get something from them so we could use more drugs. A few of us went to great lengths to keep two people from talking to each other and perhaps discovering our trail of lies. We took pains to maintain an illusion of control over our addiction and our lives. In the process, we kept ourselves from experiencing the serenity that comes with surrender to a Higher Power's will.

In our recovery, it is important to release our illusion of control and surrender to a Higher Power, whose will for us is better than anything we can con, manipulate, or devise for ourselves. If we realize that we are trying to control outcomes and are feeling afraid of the future, there is action we can take to reverse that trend. We go to our Second and Third Steps and look at what we have come to believe about a Higher Power. Do we truly believe that this Power can care for us and restore us to sanity? If so, we can live with all of life's ups and downs-its disappointments, its sorrows, its wonders, and its joys.

Just for Today: I will surrender and let a Higher Power's will happen in my life. I will accept the gift of serenity this surrender brings.

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#17

lol. Hi ho buddy! And happy thanksgiving.

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