The Thursday Principle: Faith

“Faith is many things. It is wisdom without knowledge, believing without knowing, hope with a track record. Faith is what causes us to do things we never thought we had the strength to do. Faith is important to all people in all walks of life, but addiction causes us to use faith in a way many never thought possible.”

The Spiritual Principle faith is behind A.A.’s Step Three: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

Yes, Step Three calls on the addict and alcoholic to believe in a Higher Power. But it does not dictate just what that Higher Power has to be. Many A.A.’s choose to envision the familiar God of their childhood. Others may have found their childhood experiences with deities more than a little unbelievable.

But faith doesn’t demand what you believe in; only that you do believe. If you aren’t ready to place your faith in a god, then place your faith in nature. If you’re not amenable to placing your faith in nature, then place your faith in the program. Think of the 12 Steps themselves as a power greater than yourself. And recognize the transformations undergone by the many millions of addicts and alcoholics who have come before you.

We at Healing Properties firmly believe that “treatment plays a huge part in the developing of faith because a newly sober person has the opportunity to actually witness the miracles of recovery in front of their very eyes. When a person is able to see change in others, they begin to believe it can happen for them. To think that someone who once stood in their very shoes has now adopted a way of life that really works!”