Recovery from alcoholism- Challenges and the third step

I was at a meeting the other day and someone was talking about an issue they had at work. They had made a mistake and were very concerned about the implications. They were in that state where something could possibly happen, you can’t control it, and worry and fear set in.

This triggered some not so fond memories of when I was in the corporate world and these kind of situations happened to me on a regular basis. I shared that what I would do in these cases is just try to pause for a minute and turn the situation over to God, specifically and intentionally. I added that, although I knew I had done this from the heart, it didn’t necessarily make me feel relieved. However, looking back, I’m sure God got the request and began his work. 

I especially wanted to pass along one related tool about working or using the 3^rd step in worrisome situations. One day long ago I was driving and listening to a Christian pastor on the radio. He was, without a doubt, describing the third step, although he explained it in religious terms instead of AA language.

The essence of his message was to suggest a tool that he had used for many years when worry over a situation would arise. He explained that he would ask God to take over the situation, give direction on what he should do and then turn the results over to Him. With that came the powerful tool.

He said, when these things would happen and he took the “God steps,” he would write down the event on a piece of paper. He would review this list over the years and marvel at how God had truly helped him through the problems. Sometimes the help was immediate and direct and easy to see. Sometimes the help came in the form of teaching him something he needed to learn, and it was only after a long period of time he could see the “good” that came out of a “bad” situation. However, with every single event, he could see how God had answered his prayer.

So when I got home, I started my own “God-third step list”. This was over 20 years ago and I now have 58 items on the list. I look back on the situations from years ago and, without exception, I can clearly see God's answer to my prayers. How he helped me with every single item that I knew I had little or no control over.

On a few of the more recent ones, I have added asterisks, since God is still working with me on the “challenge”.  (I’ve been suing this word more and more lately instead of" problem".) Writing these “in progress” things down on my completed list is my attempt at conveying to God I will trust that one day I will look at them and once again see His grace at work.

If you started a list of situations God has handled with you, what would be the first few entries?