Alcoholics
Anonymous History
Can God
Help Me? I’m an Alcoholic!
Can God Help Me? I’m an Alcoholic!
By Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved.
Let’s Keep it Simple, and see what God has to
say—Looking in the King James Version of the Bible where early AAs looked for
answers
Believe that God is and rewards those who
seek Him: (Hebrews 11:6—“But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”)
He will heal all that obey His
commandments: (Exodus 15:26—[the LORD] . .
said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and
wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his
commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon
thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”). (Psalm 103:2-3—“Bless the LORD, O
my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases”).
God’s commandments and love summarized: (1) 1 Timothy 2:3-4—“For this is good and acceptable inthe sight of God our Saviour. Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (2)John
3:16-17—“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.” (3) Matthew 22:36-40—Master, which is the great commandment in the law.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.” (4) 1 John 5:3—“For this is the love of
God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
Ask according to His will: (1) 1 John 5:14-15—“And this is the confidence that we
have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of him.” (2) 1 Samuel 3:10—“And the LORD came, and
stood and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered,
Speak; for the servant heareth.” (3) Acts 22:8, 10—“And I [Paul] answered, Who
art thou , Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecuted.
. . . And I said, What shall I do Lord?” (4) John 14:13—“And whatsoever ye
shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.” (5) John 15:16—“. . . that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he may give it to you.”
Call out, as one of His children, asking
for deliverance in accordance with His promises: (1)Psalm 92:14-16—“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will
I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall
call upon me, and I will answer him: I will
be with him; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I
satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (2) Psalm 55:16-17—“As for me, I will
call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon
will I pray and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” (3) Psalm
107:19-20—“Then they cry unto the LORD in their troubles, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and
healed them, and delivered them from
their destructions.”
The foregoing words apply to all His kids in trouble
who ask, obey, and believe
Suppose these are your problems: Let’s suppose that alcoholism, addictions, and
life-controlling problems really have you licked. You are dealing with staying
sober; enduring temptation; enduring withdrawal, depression, and damage to your
brain and body; facing legal, criminal, tax, economic, and domestic
difficulties; dealing with the shakes, shivers, anxieties, and fears; residing,
in a jail or a prison or homelessness; experiencing loneliness, despair,
financial despair; and confronted with enormous medical and mental hurdles.
Perhaps you
approach help from God with unbelief and hesitation: Is there a way out? Take a
look at Genesis and Luke:
Noah:
Noah “was a just man and perfect in his
generations and Noah walked with God. . . . and Noah did according to all that
the LORD commanded him. . . . And God remembered Noah and every living thing,
and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass
over the earth, and the waters asswaged. . . . And God blessed Noah and his
sons” (Genesis 9:1) Impossible? Not for God.
Abraham:
Abraham wanted a child by his wife Sara
when he was 99 years old and Sarah was 90 and barren. The :LORD appeared to him
and said, I am Almighty God: walk
before me, and be thou perfect. When push came to shove, both Abraham and Sarah
laughed at the prospect of having a son. God’s answer? “ Is anything to hard
for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14). Abraham was tempted but obeyed God; Sarah had
the son; and God blessed Abraham and greatly multiplied his family. Impossible?
Not for God
Mary-mother
of Jesus: The angel appeared to the
virgin Mary and told her that she would conceive a child in her womb and bring
forth a son and call his name Jesus. Mary asked how this was possible since “I
know not a man.” The angel told her that the Holy Ghost would come upon her and
that the power of the Highest would overcome her. Mary agreed to be the
handmade of the Lord and said “be it unto me according to thy word.”
Impossible? The angel told Mary: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
(Luke 1:37). And she gave birth to the son of God.
The Bible is filled with accounts of seemingly
impossible miracles, healings, deliverances. They attest that with God nothing
is impossible for God. And thousands of us who were “licked” by alcoholism,
entrusted our lives to God’s care and found truly that there was a way out of
all the difficulties and that there certainly was nothing beyond the power and
love and grace of the Creator. That was the experience of A.A. cofounder Dr.
Bob who aid at the end of his personal story: “Your Heavenly Father will never
let you down.!”
A New Way Out offers an opportunity to
those willing to seek it. It suggests that many would like to know that those
who become a child of God, walk in fellowship with the Father and His son and
other believers, can persistently ask God in the name of His son for God’s
directions as to where to go, what to do, and whom to help in such a way that
God Himself is obeyed, served, and glorified. It’s a choice. Anyone who suffers
and/or wants to help the still suffering can choose to seek God. Can God help?
Well He helped me, and the Good Book says He can and will help those who seek
Him.
Must you leave your church, your Bible
fellowship, your Christian recovery group, your A.A., N.A., Al-Anon or other 12
Step fellowship, or your support group just to seek and obtain God’s help? Not
if you believe the Good Book and not if you follow directions. And not if you follow
the path the early AAs followed in Akron while you are doing it. Our history
and our books give you all the accurate information: http://www.dickb.com/titles.shtml.
Gloria Deo
dickb@dickb.com
Early
A.A.,'s First Century Christian Fellowship 