The Oxford Group was a Christian recovery group who measured peoples’ understandings of God as being how far along they were in their relationship with Jesus Christ. However, in 1939 when the group wrote their book, recovery rates in alcoholics anonymous dropped. This is likely caused by a shift in going to the Bible for help and answers to going to the new book for guidance instead.
George warns us that we need to keep our focus on God.
“We don’t have a higher power, we have the highest power, and that’s God. There is one God, you know, ‘I am who I am.’ In Christ we see that reflected of God, who God is for Jesus, and that’s really important.”
We cannot put our faith in any false gods or teachings, but rather we must always stay grounded in our faith in God.
Mark shares that in a recent AA meeting, he heard one recovering man talk about how we must have God in our life in order to be able to do anything. God is a huge part of recovering, and our recovery, like God, needs to be a part of our daily life.
“The twelve steps are not just, you know, bringing other alcoholics together, but it’s also the phrase that practices these principles in all of our affairs.”
Whether you’ve been sober for two days or 28 years, the battle is still a daily one and we need to remind ourselves of that.
In Matthew 6:34 Jesus saying:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Another great quote is from Jonathan Edwards, the Puritan preacher, who said:
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
When our recovery is long and successful we must remember that it’s not about us or what we did, but rather the credit and praise goes to God and what He did in our life.
God takes people who are dead and saves them, transforming their lives for His glory. He lifts up those who have fallen, and heals those who are hurting. It only takes one person’s willingness to be obedient to God to have a huge impact in the Kingdom, and each and every life saved is important to God.
