Wisdom For Today - January

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January 31

Wisdom for Today
“Humbly asked,” are the first two words of Step Seven. This step begins this way because we recognize that we cannot accomplish this task on our own or by our own willpower. Those defects of character that have become so much a part of our personality become ingrained into our behavior. It becomes instinctive to choose these unhealthy options first, particularly when under stress. We ask for help because we cannot change these behaviors on our own. We are humbled by the fact that it is only with the help of our Higher Power that these shortcomings can be removed.
God can and will remove our shortcomings if we are humble and seek to do His will. When we stop long enough to seek His will for us, we no longer react to life instinctively. We respond wisely. We do not seek to find an easier, softer way. We seek to find His way. None of us in recovery are able to do this perfectly, but over time we can see these problems become smaller and smaller in our lives. We find that God gives us new skills for dealing with life’s problems. We look back and see that the promises of the program are beginning to come true for us in all that we do. Am I ready to stand humbly before God and ask for His help?
Meditations for the Heart
We can never know all that go into the making of a personality. We are quite complex creatures. Each of us has our own set of circumstances that molds who and what we are. We all have our own unique set of motivations. Each of us is influenced by such a different set of triumphs and sufferings. No one can know all the things that influence who we are. Because we cannot know everything that goes into making us who we are, or what makes up another individual, we must be cautious in passing judgment on others and ourselves. Too often I have judged others and myself harshly without having anyway to fully understand what caused the individual to behave as they did. Only God can truly know whom we are, and only He is qualified to judge what He sees. Passing judgment leads one to develop anger, mistrust and resentment. We need to leave it to God to unravel the complexities of who we are. Do I believe that God can teach me to behave differently?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
This day I come to You with an understanding that I do not know why I do what I do. Only bits and pieces of my behavior can be understood, and much of what I do makes little sense to me. Help me to seek to do Your will in all that I do this day. Lead me to the changes that You want for me and to become the person that You want. Let me be rid of my old self and find the new me that You want me to be.
Amen.