This is the second of a three-part blog, a meditation on partnership with God.
“Without God, I cannot; with God, I can.
Without me, God cannot; with me, God can.”
I am sure that God saw my drinking problem; everyone else did.
But without me, He could not stop my drinking. For Him to get involved, I had to ask. And I had to ask seriously. To quote from the Big Book, “God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough.”
When I wanted Him enough to ask for help, I was willing to do my part. We had a deal.
We had a partnership, a mutually supportive relationship. There were things for me to do: attend meetings, work with a sponsor and carry the message. And there were things for Him to do: provide advice through fellow AAs, enter my heart and mind in meditation, and give me intuitive knowledge of how to handle things that used to baffle me. Most importantly, to give me the power to remember prior drinking episodes with sufficient force to stop me from picking up another drink.
Drinking was one defect removed when I had a partnership with God; there were others. As we say in AA, more was revealed.
Written inventories revealed character defects and shortcomings. Like drinking, they came upon me automatically. I was powerless over them; they just appeared. And they were making my life unmanageable, a type of insanity.
The similarities did not stop there. These defects and shortcomings were deeply embedded; they were not apps I had acquired but part of my operating system. Like my drinking, I could not stop them without His help. And the formula that worked for drinking worked for defects and shortcomings. When I wanted Him enough to be willing to do the work, we had a deal.
He had His part, working within me through intuitive thoughts and providing guidance through sponsors, counsellors, and friends. And because it was a partnership, I had my part. My defects and shortcomings were my behaviours; I was the one who had to stop doing them; God was not doing them. I had to take other actions: do things to lean against the defects and shortcomings. And again, he gave me the power to remember prior episodes with force.
For drinking and other deep operating system defects: Without Him, I could not; without me, He would not.
Related posts
From Frank Amos and his report to John Rockefeller in 1938
Forgiveness: A Spiritual Virtue and Practical Tool
So many gifts.
First the gift of help from God and others. Second, the gift of spiritual sandpaper. Third the ongoing gift of choice. Fourth, the gift of awakening. Fifth, the gift of our new story together in partnership with God.
I love it, thanks Bonni
Love this Andy! Thank you! I was around the program for 38 years before I was able to fall to my knees and ask God to help me! He did andHe continues to do so every day when I ask. I try to remember to ask every moment of the day.! I need a lot of help! I need more help every day I’m sober!
Thanks Giselle
“Transforming Through Partnership with God.” This is such a beautiful meditation, Andy – I have a bracelet that
says, “Without Him, I can’t; Without me, He won’t.” Since I met God in AA, I’ve always thought of the relationship I
have with God as a partnership, me being the littlest partner but an important one. Partnership: “A mutually
supportive relationship.” How comforting. Would that all relationships be that way! Everything about this article
is insightful and thought-provoking. We have a deal.