How Do I Know If This Is God’s Will or My Will?

In talking with people, I hear this all the time and I have to say that I used to wonder this all the time myself.  Step 11 says to pray for knowledge of Gods will and the power to carry it out.  For a long time I had no idea of what Gods will was.  I thought if things went well for me then that was God’s will and if they didn’t work out that it wasn’t Gods will…somewhat confusing to say the least because I never knew if it was God’s will or not until I saw the results.  It was a sigh of relief to learn that I really could know Gods will and that God wanted everyone to know it.

As I sought God more, I learned that the meaning of “ Testament” is will or covenant.  I thought about how when my daughter was born my husband and I decided to get our Wills made up. In case anything ever happened to us, we wanted to decide who would care for her.  It was our will written down by a lawyer so that after our death someone could carry out our wishes.  I learned that the Bible was Gods will written down by men so that we could know what He wants us to do. There is His Old Testament and His New Testament or you might say: His Old Will and His New Will.  To learn God’s Will, I just needed to read the Bible but I had no idea where to start.  I had heard that in the early days of AA, before there was a Big Book, that they read from the Book of James so I started there.  I realized very quickly that a lot of what I was reading was principles I had learned and had already begun practicing in the rooms of AA.  But, I still had that nagging question: How do I know if I’m really hearing God or if it’s just me.  Then I was shown the answer.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Hebrews 4:12 NLT

The Word of God, the Bible, is the way to discern whether or not it’s just me or its God.  The Word is sharp enough to cut or divide between my soul and my spirit.  My soul is my thoughts, my will and my emotions.  My spirit is who I really am.  I am a spirit with a soul and I live in a body.  The Bible says that the word of God is so sharp that it can actually divide or cut between my soul and my spirit.  If my actions and thoughts line up with the Word which are Gods thoughts then its God.  If my emotions and thoughts don’t line up with the Word then it’s my will.  Simple, yes.  Easy..no. So now you  might ask.. How do I know if my thoughts line up with God’s word?  Well..that means that you must spend time reading it.  You can read it by book or you can look up topics just like some of our popular meditation books.  We don’t have to wonder whether something is Gods will or not we can go to His Will and look it up.  He wants us to know His will so that we know what to do in EVERY situation we find ourselves in.  God has something to say about everything we face..anger, loneliness, love, frustration, jealousy, relationships, sickness, money, family, children, employment etc.. You might try looking in your bible for topical references to find the scriptures that deal with what you need. If you need help, just message me and I’d be glad to help. 

Next up: My Will, Your Will or Gods Will


by Cheryl O.
http://www.cherylsbookmarks.com

Seeking Guidance from God in Today's A.A.?

“Go with the Winners”
and Follow the Original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” Program

Dick B.
© 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved

The following verses from the Book of James show specifically why and how to seek the wisdom of God. As A.A. Cofounder Dr. Bob stated, early members started their days be reading from the Book of James, 1 Corinthians 13, and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7):

Members of Alcoholics Anonymous begin the day with a prayer for strength and a short period of Bible reading. They find the basic messages they need in the Sermon on the Mount, in Corinthians and the Book of James. [See Dick B., Real Twelve Step Fellowship History, 18.]

And verses from these Bible segments were common fare in the original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” program A.A. Cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob began developing over the summer of 1935—the “old school” A.A. way.

From the Book of James, King James Version of the Bible

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17)

Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20)

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well (James 2:8)

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work (James 3:14-16)

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts(James 4:3)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:7-8, 10)

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. . . . For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil (James 4:13-16)

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

Compare the following language from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Both Bill W. and Dr. Bob said that it contained the underlying spiritual philosophy of A.A. [See Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library, 3rd ed., 9] And Dr. Bob pointedly made clear the real source of the verses from Jesus’ Sermon that underlay the well-known A.A. slogan, “First Things First.” [See Dick B., The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook, 92.] For Jesus taught:

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought [be not anxious] for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:25)

Wherefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:31-33)

It is about asking God’s guidance, and then obeying His will

Sound familiar to those of you who study the Big Book? If you do, you will find the Big Book full of prayers involving asking for the guidance of God. You’ll find requests that God’s will be done; that God save you from being angry; and the command that you love your neighbor as yourself. You’ll find that prayer for selfish ends is eschewed. You will find prayers humbly addressed to the Creator and involving submitting yourself to His will. And you’ll find talk of “Trust God, Clean House. Work with Others.”

When reliance on God is abandoned, the road is wide open to fear, anger, efforts to control, rationalization, and man-made errors. This was not the pioneer A.A. way of “the prince of all twelfth-steppers,” Dr. Bob. Nor is it what AAs learn when they study their basic text and take their Twelve Steps of recovery. And it is not what those is today's A.A. learn when they study the basic ideas early AAs in Akron borrowed from their study the Bible.

There’s a reason for asking God for the answers. He knows your needs. He hears your prayers. And, if you are obedient to His will, He supplies what is needed, rather than just what is wanted.

Gloria Deo

http://www.dickb.com/

“Tell me your story.” A winning beginning

Dick B.

This is a shortie about what produces results with the newcomer.

You can find my story in text and audio on the front page of my website http://www.dickb.com; and it has produced many welcome visits to my A.A. history sites and to me.

I have found, as part of my 23 years of continuous sobriety, that helping a newcomer will achieve success well if it starts with “Tell me your story.” Out here in Hawaii, it might sometimes be “Let’s talk story.” Either way, the fresh newcomer with his bag of troubles, shame, guilt, fear, and the other products of his self-destructive behavior, is surprisingly eager to tell his story if you share yours. It’s the thing that brought Bob and Bill together and resulted in the founding of A.A. And it’s the thing that enabled them to relate to Bill D., AA Number Three, who was almost instantly cured by asking God for help. And this marked the founding of A.A. Group Number One in Akron.

What do you tell the newcomer? The same thing that Ebby Thacher told Bill: “Bill, God has done for me what I could not do for myself.” A likely response is, “Tell me what happened.” And a possible answer is: “Tell me your story. I’ll tell you mine. And maybe you can see what happened to me when I asked God for help and how I got well.” Ebby’s story sent the drunken and depressed Bill scurrying to the altar and Calvary Rescue Mission where Bill made his first positive move toward his relationship with God—a decision for Jesus Christ. Bill declared he was born again. As Dr. Silkworth had suggested, Bill decided to call on the “Great Physician” Jesus Christ for help. Bill was drunk, depressed, and in despair. At Towns Hospital, Bill cried out to God for help. He had his “white light” spiritual experience, believed he had been in the presence of “the God of the Scriptures,” and stopped doubting God.

He was cured. On his release from Towns Hospital, Bill went about with a Bible under his arm, telling people they needed to give their lives to God. His own story was “The Lord has cured me of this terrible disease, and I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.” Big Book, 4th ed.,191. And A.A. Number Three Bill Dotson this became the golden text of A.A. for him and others in the fellowship. See Dick B., The Golden Text of A.A.

Alcoholics Anonymous and the Bible

A.A. History Fragment No. Two
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved

Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson wrote of early A.A.: “Each morning, there was a devotion. . . . Anne would read from the Bible. James was our favorite. . . the Book of James was a favorite with early A.A.’s—so much so that ‘The James Club’ was favored by some as a name for the Fellowship.” Dr. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, 71. Dr. Bob stated: “they were convinced that the answer to their problems was in the Good Book. To some of us older ones, the parts that we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James.” DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96. Dr. Bob also stated: “I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them. . . . We already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got them . . . as a result of our study of the Good Book.” DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96-97. For a careful review of the basic ideas that Alcoholics Anonymous got from the Bible (which they called the “Good Book”), see Dick B., The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible.

http://dickb.com/goodbook.shtml