Someone who has become God’s friend. A person who in some way or fashion has abandoned themselves to God…and recognizes God’s response. A person whose reality is not complete without God. A person who knows the love of God. The Divine’s call to intimacy is unceasing. Much of the time we are not aware of the Light that is continuously searching us. Not for us, because we are never lost to God. The search is within, so we can see where we are. God is here. Where am I?
Letting go can be hard. But hanging on when indications are telling us it is time for change creates stress that may lead to anxiousness or depression. There can be fear associated with letting go, perhaps fear of the unknown.
Scripture tells us that we “live, move, and have our being” in the Divine. Believing this can be difficult when we look at the world around us. This is where cultivating faith comes in. But where do we find faith if we don’t feel like we have any or what we have doesn’t feel strong?
There is the spiritual concept of the Seed. The Seed can be understood as that part of our being that is the Divine within. Relationship with the Divine is invitational and is continually being offered to us. To develop the relationship requires a response from us. This can be compared with the sprouting of the seed and the subsequent growth of our awareness of the Divine. Once aware, how can we get to know God?
The spiritual way of living that is the basis of 12 Step recovery offers a way to develop this relationship. Early in the Steps we encounter Step Three, which is, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” This can be scary, but many of us found ourselves at a place in our lives where our way was not working. Considering the “bottom” we had hit, the seeming uncertainty of trusting God looked better than the certain internal hell we found ourselves in. The decision made in Step Three puts us at a gate. If we walk through and work Steps Four through Nine, we will find that we are in a conscious relationship with the Divine. We will no longer have the same fear of letting go because we will know the faithfulness of the Divine. Continuing with Steps Ten, Eleven and Twelve, we build upon this foundation while improving our relationship with God and the world around us.
In whatever way one comes to be in relationship with the Divine, eventually, through experience, many realize that there is more to life than can be explained scientifically. These experiences are personal and subjective. Time and time again, often in small group settings, we hear people share their experiences of sensing and knowing that God is working in their lives. To borrow from the Big Book, they say that “God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.” If you are struggling with any area of your life, I believe that you, too, can experience the power of the Divine in you life. Is it time to let go and let God?
I thank God for the water lilies on the lake. Nature is such a wise and wonderful teacher. When we are aware of Divine Love within and around us, we appreciate the present moment and trust that this experience is producing the seeds for a beautiful tomorrow. I pray that reading this is one such moment for you. Daniel+
[The Big Book is the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The Twelve Steps are the steps used in recovery from addiction first described in the book Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other 12 Step groups.]
Light's Ways With Daniel 