Faith and Substance Abuse Recovery

Faith is often described as believing in things we cannot see. A fascinating aspect of this 12 Step program is that our faith is based on the things we do see. For us, belief is a gradual process that takes place over a sustained period of time. First, we watch and observe as a particular newcomer comes in beat up, defeated, and trapped in the insanity of this disease. If you stick around, you’ll be there on the day that this same person celebrates her first year clean with her sanity and her dignity restored. It is on those days that we deeply sense the presence of a Higher Power. We come to believe because we see lives miraculously transformed from self-destruction to self-love, from sickness to renewed health, from what was false to what is true, from what was wrong to what is right, and from what kills us to what gives us life. That is when we know that a spiritual force greater than ourselves is at work. If you stay long enough, your faith will be affirmed by the constant evidence of the miracles you actually see.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will recognize the presence of a Higher Power in all of those moments when addicts have their sanity and their human dignity restored. I thank God that I am an example of the miracles that can take place for those who work this program.

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