Step 2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Scripture: Phil 2:13: For it is God who works in you to will and act in order to fulfill every good purpose.
Assertion: Came to believe means trusting in God’s promise to restore all His creation to himself for a life time.
I will never forget meeting the Chicago Bear football great Walter Peyton. It was a simple meeting at a business dinner in which he stood in the room, took pictures with folks and spoke about his life. In my conversation with him, he went from idol to human. The meeting dramatically changed my knowledge and understanding of him. He was no longer a person at a distance but a person of existence: a person capable of amazing running but also of being human and approachable, like the rest of us.
Many of us had never thought of Jesus in the same light. Many of us knew of some God out there in the distance, who by the shape of our lives, didn’t give a hoot about us but most of us had never experienced God like a brother or friend. In fact, I would venture to say many self proclaimed Christians have never experienced this. Sure, they go to church, can recite doctrine and can honestly say, I am a member of church, but they have never heard His voice. You see, knowing a higher power is more powerful than knowing of a higher power.
A perfect illustration of this was in a movie recently. Have you seen the movie “Fools Gold” with Matthew McConaughay where he plays this treasure explorer. He’s in the airplane and his ex-wife, current girlfriend is bewildered that he knows how to fly. She then asks, when did you learn how to fly? He responds: Play station and then you see the plane land and flip over in the water. That’s the difference between knowing about higher power and experiencing God through Jesus and His powerful Spirit in the here and now.
This is where the words “came to believe” actually have some meaning. I came to believe when I fully realize as in step 1 that I am powerless and my way doesn’t work. It is really not that far from that step to then believe that somebody or some spiritual being actually might be able to help us.
I always find it interesting that anyone has trouble with this step. The easy examples are that if you have drivers license problem, the secretary of state has more power than any of us in the room. If you have an electrical problem, Com Ed has more power to affect our lives than we do. Even a wayward 2 year old, screaming at the top of her or his lungs in the Wal-Mart check out, can have more power over our actions than we do. Even our addictions prove, we are capable of turning our lives over to a powerful force. At first, we did it consciously and then later it over took us. So why won’t we turn our lives over now, it’s simple: pride and ego. Pride says I’m okay; I can handle this on my own ego says; you haven’t lost everything yet. Both are core instincts of the human condition and I believe it’s attached to the need for the insistence that we all must hit a bottom. Unless our worlds are smashed and we honestly believe we can’t help ourselves we will continue to put ourselves in the God seat. It wasn’t until we came to this realization we actually have a chance.
So what about you? Have you come to believe? I read a story the other day by author struggling with this concept. In his writing, he expressed is lack of belief. He was having a problem with the whole concept and decided to give God a try. He prayed his first prayer. He said. “God if you truly exist – reveal yourself to me in a way I can understand.” He proceeded to tell of an immediate sense of warmth and presence. It was if Jesus himself had come to him and gave him a hug. The author stated, “God reassured me of His reality with His comforting embrace. After that event, God became real and present for this man. In that moment, doubts rushes away and hope rushes in – a hope that won’t later ask you to steal, lie, cheat or kill you but a power that will end the insane life and a throw in a promise of better tomorrow.
For me, God reappeared in the moment a good friend said, “Why don’t write a list of attributes for what a perfect being, which runs the universe, loves all and wants the best for everyone, would possess.” This was profound for me because God became real in that moment. I didn’t have to say any magic words or believe in any Santa Claus God. I just had to believe in a being who really did create the universe and all that is in it. What a revelation.
It’s with this understanding, we as followers of the one real higher power, who is okay with being anonymous, celebrate a dinner in which God hung out with man and told him of day in which the world will be different for those who know him.
For more information on the author: https://communitycenter.life/rev-robert-butler-info
