'Morning everyone :)

We are on page 62, Paragraph 3. Here we find out the position that
God will occupy in our lives: "This is the how and the why of it.
First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn't work. Next, we
decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be
our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents." As His agents
we are to express His will for us - not our own. Not the "bush
league pinch hitter" we usually used Him as.

Here's the reference to the spiritual structure: "Most good ideas
are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and
triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom." Earlier we
talked about "Willingness" as the Foundation, "Belief" as the
Cornerstone and now the Keystone is allowing God to be our Director.
A stone mason will tell you that the entire structure of a stone
arch rests upon that Keystone. This is an element that allows the
structure to exist without which we would have a pile of stones. An
arch is the strongest architectural and structural element known to
man. This underscores the importance of where God fits into our
lives.

Most of us our familiar with "The Promises" on page 84 and 85. What
many of us don't realize is that there are promises throughout the
book. Let's go to paragraph 1 on page 63. Read it through... sounds
like promises to me – all these things will come to pass for us if
we proceed to Step 3. "When we sincerely took such a position, all
sorts of remarkable things followed. We had a new Employer. Being
all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him
and performed His work well. Established on such a footing we became
less and less interested in ourselves, our own little plans and
designs. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could
contribute to life. As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed
peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as
we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of
today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn." It's all great
stuff!

Paragraph 3 is the Third Step Prayer:

"God, I offer myself to Thee – to build with me and to do with me as
Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do
Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear
witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of
life. May I do Thy will always!"

Reading through this prayer we can see things about Step 3 that may
not have been apparent before. We begin to see that we have made a
decision and have become open to having a Power greater than
ourselves in our lives. We are asking to be relieved of the bondage
of self, not the bondage of alcohol. This relates to what we believe
to be the root of our problem: "Selfishness – Self Centeredness...,"
remember? At this stage, however, we have only made a decision. For
that decision to become vital, we must take action.

I "made a decision" to take a new job offered to me, but until I
negotiate my new salary, my benefits, sign the offer letter and
report for work it is just a decision. The actions that follow this
decision are what make the decision vital.

With our next post we will begin at the very bottom of page 63 and
the beginning of a detailed discussion of Step 4 as it is detailed in
the Big Book.

Have a great day!

Jim

Weekend Big Book Studies with Jim & Dave - visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Big_Book_Seminars

For a weekly chuckle visit:
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