Who Got You There*

I have met people who are no longer practicing addictive behavior and have a better balance in their lives.  They seem to be happier with themselves and more useful to the world around them.  Yet, they tell me they do not believe in God.  They don’t believe in the church/synagogue, religion god, who lives someplace else and does not seem to be fixing world problems.  So I ask them what they did to change their addictive behavior.  Turns out they are in a recovery program with steps, meetings an service for others.  “Who got you to go to those meetings?”  I ask them.  “I was so miserable, frightened, depressed, I just decided to go,” they tell me.  I remind them, or reveal to them, that most people in their circumstances just die from the addiction.  No addictive person has the power to get into recovery.  It is some energy greater them themselves with which they cooperated to get them to that meeting where the light went on for them to start shaping up.  In other words, the God they don’t believe in got them there.  And the program is meant to get them to a God of their understanding.  Power exists.  I see it everyday in these walking miracles of unbelief.