turn it over, step 3 continued

Step 3 is part of the Submission Phase, but the difference between this step and Step 2 is we are now choosing to turnover our will to the care of God. What does that mean exactly? I hope to explain in a way that makes sense.

If you’ve ever studied how birds migrate from one location to another, you learn they are guided by some internal instinct that prompts them to move at a certain time to a certain place. Humans have intuition more than they have instinct. One of the main definitions of intuition is, “direct perception of truth, fact, etc.” In other words, the way we see things affects how we’ll react to things. Our reactions can be varied like actually moving from one location to another, or saying something, or not saying anything. Maybe it’s a gesture of a hand on a shoulder, or a hug, or just sitting next to someone who needs to be listened to. Our intuition is honed over time based on what we focus on.

You ever get a gut feeling that something wasn’t right about a situation or place? Your eyeballs told you everything looked fine, but inside you just knew something wasn’t right. That’s intuition. And if you’re wise, you will learn to listen to your intuition. The more you listen to it, the better you get at interpreting what it’s telling you.

On some level, each of us is following our intuition based on our life decisions. Granted, if you’re a full-blown addict then your decision-making sucks. It’s led you down a path you didn’t intend to go down. But here you are. What happened? You stopped listening to your intuition. Your intuition was suppressed by your laser focus on your addiction—“I need to get high.” You put all your life energy towards something that eventually took everything away.

On the flip side of this is focusing your intuition on God. The God Who Is Love. The God Who Can Heal. The God Who Is Peace. Just imagine how your life can change if you shifted your focus on love, healing, and peace. Over time, your intuition will become more clear to you and you’ll know when you’re not in the right place or situation and hopefully you’ll do the right thing and get out. Move! Don’t stay in a place where your intuition is screaming at you to “Move!”

Step 3 is also the step where we’ve reached the end of our rope and are ready to try the “God thing” because everything else hasn’t seemed to work. It’s a process in which we hone our intuition to listen to our spirit. God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit—spirit to spirit. And His voice is different for each of us because He knows what we’ll listen to and what we won’t. When we start listening to that inner voice, then our life starts taking a turn for the better. And we keep doing it over and over.

When you’re ready to turn your life and will over to God, find a Bible based church, a Christ-centered recovery group, or even a Bible based study group. Build a relationship with someone who can guide you to a personal relationship with Jesus. It can only get better from here.

#step3recovery #turnoveryourwill