The Bible reminds us just how powerless we are to do right things in our own strength – even as believers. If I am going to be of much use to God’s Kingdom today, I will simply need to stay connected to Him and remain open to following the plan He has laid out for me.
He doesn’t need my ideas or help. As I see it…He’s supposed to be driving the car of my life and I’m just riding shotgun.
If I can stay willing to do what He says, when He says to do it and to do it in His strength and power, I can’t miss. The best way I know to do that is to be Honest, Open and Willing (HOW) to Him and His plan.
- Honest with God about where I really am today
- Open to what God is saying to me through circumstances today
- Willing to let God do whatever He knows is best for me right now
I learned the concept from Chapter 4 of Narcotics Anonymous (Fifth Edition; 1988), titled “How it Works.” This is where the 12 Steps are introduced. In that introduction is this statement:
There is one thing more than anything else that will defeat us in our recovery; this is an attitude of indifference or intolerance toward spiritual principles. Three of these that are indispensable are honesty, open-mindedness and willingness. With these we are well on our way.
Those in recovery will point out that Step 1 of the 12 Steps focuses on Honesty – that is seeing myself as I really am; Step 2 focuses on Open-mindedness – that is seeing God as He really is; Step 3 focuses on Willingness – Let Him do in my life what I can’t, but He can.
So the Biblical principles for an everyday spiritual walk are the starting principles (Steps 1-3) for recovery from drugs and alcohol.
While I don’t have a chemical addiction background, I work at applying the same spiritual principles in my everyday spiritual walk as men in our Spiritual Recovery Program use for empowerment over their addiction.
We all need the same stuff every day; and it is as simple as HOW – Honest, Open and Willing.
Sincerely,
Pastor Gary Byers
Spiritual Life Director