[Leed]

Days of Healing, Days of Joy...............................................Nov. 24th

"When we lose God, it is not God who is lost."......................Anonymous

At times any of us can fall into the trap of trying to make deals with God. The thought seems to be, if I can make a deal with God, then I can control the outcome that God alone seems to determine.

We cannot make deals with God - not because God is so hard-nosed, but because we don't need to bargain with God. The good we are trying to bargain for is already precious in the mind of God. We don't need to bargain for the benefit of others because God already loves those people and wants only good for them.

Yet at times we hear ourselves or others say things like, "Why doesn't God come through for me? I put my money in the offering tray every week, and I do things for my neighbors and friends. I volunteer for good causes. Yet I still feel insecure and scared. Why doesn't God answer my prayers?"

Perhaps the task is not to overwhelm God with all our effort but to quietly listen and discover that the gift was outside our door all the time. We were just too busy to pick it up.
________________________________
Today I will be open to fresh insights about the God of my understanding.

I wonder how many times I've tried and tried to do good things, and I've prayed until I was exhausted --but still didn't get an answer.

And then lo and behold I realized I hadn't listened. What a concept! If we aren't quiet and listen, we won't HEAR God's answer. It's always there if we're quiet enough to listen. What we hear may not be what we like, but it's what we need.

[madisgram]

thanks for this, lee. i have sponsored a gal for 16 years seeing her tormented soul because she kept returning to drink. it almost cost her her life. i had multiple times used everything we know about our disease,etc. to help her. and that the only hope for life was to abstain. she wanted to stay sober and then she'd go out again. she kept bargaining with her higher power. the only thing left for her was death. i drove to be with her 2 christmas's ago because i knew her time was near. i left her home thinking i would not ever see her alive again. i was so very, very sad. only a miracle could save her. i recall telling her previously to pray and ask to be healed. she kept saying i am praying but there's no answer. i said keep praying and no deal making. ask for the miracle. you can't do this alone. at the lowest point she had her spiritual awakening. her obsession was lifted. everything she learned all those years in AA and with me suddenly was applied. it is truly a miracle. her prayer was answered and in a magnificent way. she continues to be sober now 2 years. her involvement and service work started from her first day sober. we both cried tears of joy. it was so incredibly powerful.

[gma45]

Thanks Leed, Always such a great message. Madisgram I hope someday I can find a sponsor like you.

[shortandcute]

Thank you for this post! I have been sober for about 3 years and 4 1/2 months--and I still try to bargain with God about things--but I can't ever keep up my end of the bargain, then I am tormented with guilt and feeling like God won't hear me because I have "sinned so bad." I am trying to not "bargain" so much or make promises to God; I am trying to get in the habit of just asking God to help with a habit I am trying to change.