REZ

Any thoughts on the differences between God's will and my will?

My will
Selfish
Short-sighted
Instant gratification
Prejudiced
Little picture
Problem oriented

God's will
Unselfish
Long-view
Delayed gratification
Not prejudiced
Big picture
Solution oriented

Phinneas

Ooooh - good topic, Rez.

Well, I know that for me, I can tell when I am in god's will. Things just seem to FLOW, ya know? Little things and big things just seem to go right. I feel happy and serene. When I am in my will, I encounter obstacle after obstacle. I get stuck in traffic, lose my keys, say the wrong thing to someone. I feel irritable and discontent.

And the difference, again for me, is when I pray for guidance. When I let go of results and expectations. When I am in acceptance. Then things all go better for me and I feel better. That's when I am in god's will.

Now that I have experienced being in god's will, I wish I could just STAY there. Unfortunately, I keeping taking my will back and going through the cycles. I think that's part of the growth, though. Progress not perfection as they say, right?

Aa_vark

hi rez, hi phinny,

good topic

Gods will, hmmm....

What would God do....

I like this topic, and i think that there is alot of good writing on the subject.

I think that the golden rule is most applicable, when im no sure what to do.

Love god above all, love your neighbors as you would love yourself.

That was a painful mindbender, as i treated my self so horribly when i was using. Inventory was hard. Seeing where i was wrong, many times bringing bad attitude, bad consequences, to every situation.

I have to work on that stuff, and keep it simple, most of the time, too. Lest I forget.

My spiritual condition=my level of serenity=my willingness to put someones needs before my own=my connection with God=My chances at recovering today.

I put so many things ahead of others, my own needs and compulsions;

I try to remember now that inorder to remove the blockages from recovery, from gods will for me, i need to move towards people, and thwir needs, whats best for us... Not just me.

I try to move outside of my self-centeredness, towards other people... to get to gods will....

I try to bring what god would have me bring to the party... Even if im getting something out of a situation, if my motives are self seeking i cant stay in giving/loving/helping frame of mind

Oh, something powerful i heard about step 3-4. And turning my will and life over to god...

the first time i did the thirdstep, on my knees, outloud with someone (in AA), before he handed me the pencil, he shared that moving from the decision to the action, of taking a moral inventory was most likely the first time i had done gods will in a LOooooonnnng time.... had to take a look at my own behaivior inorder to move back towards people, to move back towards god...

in order to turn my LIFE over, i would have to start to try to correct my wrongs. Try to do the "right" things for the "right" reasons...

SaTiT

Not sure if it's god will or not..
but i just found out some ***** stole my guitar and processor
I had at my church.

Dosen't the idiot knows that guitar is mine and given to me by
god and it's been bless by the almighty. I'm an instrument
of god and that guitar is an extension of me....
no one...but no one touches that guitar except me.

I hope the SOB dies and gose to hell..

anyway....not feeling very good at the moment.
I don't feel the good lord been watching out for me lately.
what freanken now ????

but it's like this...I'm not picking up no matter what.

i love you too phinny.

Paulie

IMO the person that stole your guitar was not doing God's Will.

Sorry that happened to you SaTIT.

I know when I am not doing Gods will, I feel it in my gut. What is kinda cool is that when I realize later that something I did was TOTALLY His will and I didnt even think about it, it just came naturally.

I used to think before I got clean that free will was given to us by God as a joke. I thought that if I did not have free will I would not have made some of the choices that I had made in my life. Today I understand the gift that having free will is. And a huge part of that gift is knowing that I make a choice daily to live in God's will.

Great topic!

Phinneas

Good discussion, all!

And it's good to see you, Paulie! I totally relate to what you say here. I can "feel" it, too, when I am not there. But when I AM there, it does come naturally and I don't even realize it until much later. I call it being in the FLOW. Things just flow and it's good and right and lots and lots of little miracles happen along the way.

For me, it's not about reading about it or talking about it, but experiencing it. Thankfully, I've had just enough recovery to have really experienced god's will in my life. And, what that means is I can recognize better when it's NOT there, too. All part of the learning and growth for me. And when I am not in god's will, I usually sulk and complain about it for awhile before I do what I KNOW I need to do - get back on my knees! It ain't perfect, but at least it's there, ya know?

ccirider

I would add controlling and impatient under My will and detached and patient under God's will.

Gmoney

Good topic.

I guess I'll add my two or three cents, for all it's worth:

I can relate to what Rez wrote, as far as comparing or contrasting what is or isn't "God's" will, but for me it's not always as black and white as that. I truly believe that there are times when there's a grey area or certain situations where the lines are blurred and all that really matters is the result. I have done some things since being in recovery, and afterwards asked myself, "Was that the right thing to do?" Or, "Could I have done that better?" But at the end of the day, if my actions helped someone (or better yet, didn't harm anyone) I generally rest easy that my will was aligned with the will of my HP.

Even the NA literature talks about how God's will becomes our own true will for ourselves. I believe that this occurs through practice of the program's principles and it happens over time. I also believe that doing the right thing for the right reason eventually becomes second nature and we don't have to be consciously concerned with the difference between God's will and our own. As Phinny and Paulie shared, there's an inner guidance or "gut level" flow that directs me to do what I know is right - as opposed to what may feel good for the moment. If, and when, I'm in tuned with that guidance and I follow it - all is well. In cases where I revert back or ignore that guidance, I'll always have steps 8 through 11 to get back on track.

For me, peace of mind means my will is aligned with my HP's will for me.

SaTiT

well, hopefully that's the last of the BS for a while, while.
I'm getting really, really sick and tire od this life on life's term BS.
That was the third bad, bad crap that happen to me latey.
yes, yes acceptance is a SOB

not really sure if it's god thing...i belive it is.
Another test of of my faith..well I'm not JOB..damn it.
I wasn't the first and I imagine I won't be the last...so there you go.

I didn't have to use over any of it...That's my will. Beats the
hell out of me if it's aligned or not.

I don't know...staying clean and sober when life is grand , cool and easy..
and i sure aprreciate that as much as the next soul dose.

it's when the **** just aint right...lol that's when my program kicks ass.

A letter to God

Dear God,
No mor acid test please....

sincerely Sat

ccirider

I would also add merciful and forgiving to god's will and angry and punitive to my will. God's will is to be very slow to anger and punishment, whereas my will is to be hot tempered. God's will is to slow things down because he knows how quick things can get out of control. My will is break the speed limit, run stop signs and red lights. My will is foolish and God's will is wise.

Paulie

I was told in early recovery that God is not forgiving, He doesnt have to be because he never condemns us. I needed to hear that when I got here.

Love That.....Thanks Phinny

SaTiT

until then I still hope, pray, the sob suffers forever...I'm not god.

don't write me a letter to make an amends or leave the guitar
on my grave when I'm dead.... years on down the line.
it will be piontless to me.

become willing and ready whenever the hell you want, whenever that is.
Just so you can live with it...right now....right now.
oh but it's going to happen on god's time...F-that.

ccirider

Condemns us = punishes us? Well, as they say, God as we understand him. I am not a Christian, but what about the Lord's prayer?...Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us An addict not only trespasses against members of his own family, he also trespasses against God. Why should the addict make amends to his family and seek their forgiveness, yet he doesn't have to make amends to God?

I am not so sure that that is what you needed to hear, but I can understand that is what people want to hear.

Peace

Paulie

Just part of my story.

yep

Doug

God's will-doing the right thing, for the right reason, even when nobody is looking, and without telling anybody.

My will-Doing whatever I want, whenever I want, regardless of what that entails, regardless of who gets run over in the process, regardless of the consequences, as long as I get my way.

Good topic Rez. Thanks.

REZ

Thanks for all the great posts. I can definitely relate.

I think the recovery is a process of brining my will into conformity with God's will for me.
I agree that often it is not easy to know what God's will is for me, and that in those situations and need to pray and pay attention to what I am feeling in my gut.
I also agree that when I am in synch with God's will that everything just falls into place--life flows, but when I am out of synch with God's will life is a struggle.

SaTiT

well..no matter how i feel I'm not good enough, no matter how
others tells me I'm not good enough.

I don't pick up.... no matter what.
My GOD loves me no matter what.

I guess that's how it gets align, for me.

salvationapril

Paulieeeeee,



I feel the FLOW

Paulie

??? Is that good or bad???

erfra7

Wow amazing comments. I think I being off my HP will and my will is trying to get control back. Yours comments help me out a lot. Thanks for the honesty