Not Working, But Resting

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. (AA, pg 85)

Contrary to the program's pretended claims, every day members of AA do not bring a message of experience, strength and hope to anyone. There is no life, there is no strength, there is nothing but trying to keep one's head above water, staying just one step ahead of the next drink.

This never-ending sense of "never done" defines Alcoholics Anonymous.

I am not making this up.

Read the story where the man says "Acceptance is the Answer to all of my problems."

He claims in that story that his most important decision every day is not drinking.

What kind of life is that, one in which the only issue of substance is not taking a drink?
AA is not a life of living out the life within you, but trying to hold on every day, hoping that the enemies surrounding you will not be able to wear you down then storm all over you.

The life of constant vigilance wore me out. I could not continue living this life of holding on.

No one can.

Then Jesus Christ offers the following:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)

The verse better reads: "And I will rest you."

Jesus Christ is the rest, and in Him we find all things.

During one tumultuous period of my life, I was chronically plagued with doubt, trying to figure out what was my part in this life.

I know that Jesus had died for my sins. Yet I had been raised that in order to live out this life, I needed to do certain things. Because I had no clear guidelines provided for me, I used the Twelve Steps, since that was what I was taught for so long.

The Twelve Steps, like any system of rules, creates more problems. Any system of rules will bring s back to ourselves, showing us that we cannot measure up in anything that we do.

No matter how hard we try, no matter what steps we take to do well, we will never arrive by our efforts to the place where we want to be.

Instead of our efforts, God the Father offers us His Son, and in Him we have the perfect standing that we seek.

"4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2: 4-8)


This entire life that we have in Christ: it is a gift from God.

There is no mixing this message. Either we receive everything from Him, or we must work for it.

Otjherswise, we are caught in a meaningless contradiction or a chronic frustration which causes us to move and stop at the same time.

There is no working and resting at the same time. Either God is everything, or God is nothing, as members of AA love to repeat.

Yet if God is everything, then I need to see Him as Savior, and only the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ reveals this Truth (and the Way and the Life)