Al-Anon daily reflection ·

No Reason to Doubt

If we trusted God in our Fifth Step, is there any reason to doubt Him now?

Paths to Recovery, p. 66

Last week I was talking with my sponsor about my fear of Step Six. I've become ready to let go of some character defects but I'm terrified that God won't actually remove them. What if I do all this work of becoming ready and nothing changes? What if I let go and God doesn't catch me?

If we trusted God in our Fifth Step is there any reason to doubt Him now? This question stopped my spiraling fear. I did Step Five. I shared my complete inventory with another person and with God. I was vulnerable and honest in ways I'd never been before. And God didn't abandon me. The person hearing my Fifth Step didn't reject me. I was held through that terrifying vulnerability.

So why would I doubt God now? If God was trustworthy in Step Five – if I shared my darkest secrets and wasn't destroyed – why would God suddenly become untrustworthy in Step Six? The pattern of trustworthiness is already established. I have evidence. I've already taken bigger risks with God and been held.

Step Six asks me to remember what I've already learned about God's trustworthiness and apply it here.

Practice

When fear makes me doubt whether God will actually remove my character defects, I can look back at Step Five. I trusted God then and wasn't abandoned. I was vulnerable and was held. That evidence of trustworthiness applies to Step Six too.

Today’s Reminder

God's trustworthiness in Step Five proves God's trustworthiness now.

More on trust in a Higher Power

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Written by people with lived experience of someone else’s drinking who practice the Twelve Step program of recovery. Published by Daily Growth, LLC.

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