Principals and promises, power and presence

There are reasons for the tendency of the wide variety of twelve-step programs to be more successful than other programs. And in fact, the more seriously the 12 steps are worked, the more successful is the outcome. Actually, we can all benefit from doing this. I have seen over and over, that people who come into these programs to help “those people,” often find that they are one of those people! In fact that happened to me.

I tell the men who come to our related programs in the penitentiary, that what you get out of the program is directly related to what you put into it. But it’s not just the effort that one puts into working the steps that makes it more or less successful, it has a lot to do with the “higher power,” that one embraces.

For those not familiar with the 12 steps I should say that step 2 says “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity,” while step 3 says “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” In talking to people in the various 12-step programs and asking them who or what is their higher power, I get a variety of answers. For some their higher power is the group itself, for others it’s their mother, I have even heard some say “it’s a tree!”

Clearly, some higher powers are more powerful than others! But whatever it is (paraphrasing the first step of the 12 steps) it is necessary to acknowledge our need of something greater than ourselves, to acknowledge some power greater than ourselves. When all I have is me, then I am limited to my strength, my wisdom, and my ability to live and shape my life. But, as the saying goes “Most men live lives of quiet desperation.” And I believe no matter where you are in life, you could benefit from the principles that lie behind 12 step program.

I often tell the man in the penitentiary who come to our programs “If your higher power is a tree, I don’t know how much help you going to get from your tree, or if your higher power is your mother, what’s going to happen when she dies?” Part of what I’m saying, is that if your higher power is the Christ of classical Christianity, then there are at least three advantages you can embrace. In particular that are the principles and promises of the Word of God, there is the power available to us in relationship with Christ, and finally there is the stabilizing strength, comfort, hope and joy of his presence. This post it is in fact, an introduction to a series on these things, but let me say something very briefly on these three advantages.

The principles of Scripture can seem like common sense when you hear them. For example “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). My point is though, that it rings true, it’s good advice, and it works! The promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5), has been for me a stabilizing influence in my life, as I have dealt with loneliness. In fact the fulfilment of this promise has given me the power to carry on, as I over and over I have experienced the comfort hope and joy of the reality of His presence.

Coming to the reasons that twelve-step programs tend to be more successful than others seems to me to be entirely due to the fact that the 12 steps are squarely based on biblical principles. However, in my experience, the programs are far more effective when we acknowledge Christ as the higher power. Even in terms of principles, though the 12 steps are based on biblical principles, there are many others that are not contained in the 12 steps. In addition there is no real access to “the exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). On top of this we have access neither to Christ’s mighty power that strengthens the inner man (Ephesians 3:16), nor to the comfort of His stabilizing presence. There is so much more to say, stay tuned!