God is something in all of us
Everyone has his or her own conception of a Higher Power
“I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us.”
-John Lennon
One of the easiest concepts of AA for me to grasp was the idea that everyone has her or his own conception of God. What you call a Higher Power has no business and no bearing on me. Whatever we consider our Higher Power, a force that is keeping us sober one day at a time, is God. As long as our God is not ourselves, we have a good place to start.
The spirit of God in an AA group is clearly in all of us. Even for our members who say they have no faith in a Higher Power yet, even they confess to feeling that spirit at work in the meeting. The extraordinary fact that AA has survived and thrived for decades, when its members are a bunch of drunks, is clearly a testament to God’s presence in our program.
Our Higher Power, however we define her, him, or it, is keeping us sober. We may have a complete misunderstanding of this Higher Power, and yet it works despite us. Alcoholics who find a life of meaning, of dignity, and of love are surely being guided, day by day, by a force outside of themselves. Perhaps today I can leave the mystery of how everything works and just be satisfied with the fact that it does indeed work.
Today’s Prayer
God, sometimes I don’t understand how you work, but I do know that you do work in my life. Thank you for my relationship with you today, Higher Power. Thank you for staying with me in my drinking and into my sobriety.
This is the October 30 reading from my book, With Gratitude. This book is written for people in AA or Al-Anon, or anyone who is interested in life in recovery.