The Power of the Mind vs. The Empowered Mind
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
This text discusses the importance of wisdom and its implications. The passage suggests that one should seek wisdom from God if one lacks it. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, wisdom can be defined as “good sense” and “judgment.” Therefore, if someone is struggling with making good decisions or lacks judgment, they should ask God for wisdom. It is essential to start running our mind, our heart and our actions on “God Power vs. good power.” It is essential to seek wisdom in all areas of our lives where we may lack good sense and judgment. Although some people may believe they are wise enough to not ask for help, it is crucial to recognize our areas of weakness and seek guidance. Further, we need to understand why we need wisdom and the significance it holds in our lives.
Do Not be Wise in Your Own Eyes
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
These are some powerful words of instruction from the Bible. These are also powerful words for recovery. But what does trusting in God and not “leaning on your own understanding” mean for those of us in recovery? That is the “God Power vs. good power.”
First, “trusting in God” does not imply the complete absence of doubts and struggles. That “trust” is the tool we are supposed to use to overpower the doubts and struggles everyone gets.
Contrary to how many tend to try to interpret this verse, “lean not on your own understanding” is not a caution against using your brain at all and at any time so you can somehow live by a faith that requires you not to think at all. This entire passage is dedicated to how you use and don’t use your God-given cognitive abilities to process and reason while not allowing the fears, doubts, etc., that He built into all of us as sharp alerts to urgently warn us that something may be leading us toward our self-destruction.
Our minds and feelings are designed by God and on their own they are a “good power.” When directed and filled by God they are “God Powered.”
Our logic and feelings are enormous drivers of our lives but can sometimes be completely wrong.
A Simple Example
A simple, not so spiritually based, example is the natural fear of water that many people have when young, especially those of us who cannot swim at those ages. The fear is not the water itself; the fear is the risk of drowning or otherwise suffering harm.
That is not a completely unsubstantiated fear because people do actually drown and suffer harm or die. This is a legitimate risk. That fear can make getting into the water and learning to swim very difficult.
The irony of this application of that fear is that the fear that keeps the person from taking the risk of getting into the water can actually keep a person from the one thing that is probably the easiest way to lower the risk of harm or death in the water, which is to learn to swim. After all, learning to swim without getting into the water is very hard.
That person may understand that the water contains risk, and their thoughts, emotions, and physical and mental feelings may completely revolt against even the thought of getting into the water. When I say physical feelings, I speak of natural occurrences such as shivering out of fear, goosebumps, headaches, uncontrollable kicking and screaming, etc.
Own Understanding?
Our logic and feelings are enormous drivers of our lives but can sometimes be completely wrong.
That person’s “own understanding” is repelled entirely at even the idea of getting in the water. Ask any lifeguard, and they will probably say that that level of fear makes it considerably more challenging for them to save a person who is drowning, on top of the fact that the drowning person will not be able to contribute much to saving themselves.
The truth is that feeble attempts of that drowning person to save themselves will usually turn into wildly flailing in a terror-filled panic that will not only make themselves harder to save, it will stir up more water and tire the person faster so they hurry the process of drowning and actually can take the lifeguard, who is assumed to be a strong swimmer and introduce them to a circumstance where they are suddenly at high risk of drowning trying to save that person.
What Does That Mean
Somewhere, that person has to take the simple logic that says that water can lead to drowning and the deep fear that person has of water and use it as fuel to get into the water and learn how to swim cautiously. That is the best way to lower the risk of drowning and even make saving a person from drowning easier and safer for someone else.
That is to say that “your own understanding” can be somewhat correct but still lead a person to the worst possible outcomes instead of the most logical outcome. In this case, the person is focused on self-protection. They can’t even imagine the one thing that will lower the risk by avoiding water and, at the same time, feed the fear that will make the problem so big that not even other people can come and save them.
Their “own understanding” is helpful to a point, but at the same time, it can also be the one thing that leads them to destruction and even death. On their own, our thoughts and feelings are unreliable at best and, at worst, are the most direct path to misery and possible death.
We Ask God!
This idea is central to Twelve-Step work daily.
On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use.
Alcoholics Anonymous pg 86
The “one day at a time” concept is hinged on the idea that the starting point and key throughout each day to making everything work is having God direct everything in your life. But not in some unconscious state like a puppet on a string who is simply a passenger, passively looking on as some giant superior being lives your life for you.
The idea is that God purposely gave us the ability to use our minds and emotions. The truth is that our minds and emotions on their own have severe limitations that, in our cases, have been even more hindered by our addictions and surrounding events. These same minds and emotions are incredibly useful tools in the hands of the God who put them in us, with purpose, in the first place. The struggle is between giving our minds and emotions to God, who is all-seeing and all-knowing, or letting them drive us independently with all their severe limitations. The struggle is “God Power vs. good power.”
Renewing Your Mind
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
This passage is not saying to stop using your mind entirely and become a puppet. It is saying to focus on having God “renew” your mind, and not only will that drive you to “do” what God would like you to do, but you will be living proof of what the “will of God is.” we are to run on “God Power vs. good power.”
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of “renew” includes:
: to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection: to make new spiritually : REGENERATE: to restore to existence : REVIVE: to make extensive changes in : REBUILD: to do again : REPEAT: to begin again : RESUME: REPLACE, REPLENISH: to grant or obtain an extension of or on
Each definition is a different dimension of what this passage can mean, and all are true. All of this is what you have to allow God to do to and with your mind continuously. “One day at a time.”
For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.
We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator.
Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 68
🔗 God Power vs. Good Power (pt 2) ▶️