I once had the privilege of attending a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous with a family member who needed help. In that small circle of broken, honest people, I felt the tangible presence of God. These men and women had come to the end of themselves and the beginning of faith, so desperate for help that they were willing to admit the truth about themselves.
It struck me then that this was a model for my own life—to present myself to God as I truly am, broken and desperate for his grace. The truth is, no matter how much God heals and restores us, none of us can survive for even a moment without his help.
But it is easy to forget this, to fool ourselves into thinking we are in charge of our lives and we can handle our problems our way. So we build strategies, consciously or unconsciously, for handling life’s challenges in ways that depend more on us than they do on God. Perhaps the strategies work well enough on small problems, but what happens when we encounter something bigger—a real disaster or tragedy? What then? Do we try and try and try, beating our heads against a wall, or do we come to realize anew, to use the language of Alcoholics Anonymous, that our lives have “become unmanageable” and that only a “Power greater than ourselves” can help us?
If you are feeling powerless in the midst of life’s difficulties, don’t give in to discouragement. Your weakness, faced with honesty and hope, can be the very pathway God will use to display his strength. Wait for his help, which will surely come.
