Full of Nothing

TRUTH

Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭6

REFLECTION

What I work toward matters greatly.

Yes, there is satisfaction to be found and good to come from working at whatever is in front of me as for the Lord.

There is a peace that comes from aligning my thoughts toward the greater good when I’m not satisfied by whatever it is that I’m doing.

But there’s also a time to reevaluate whether I am chasing the wind.

Better to step back than to continue to try the impossible.

Better to look for God’s direction either through or away from the task in front of me.

And I wish I were better at this than I am. Some things in sobriety have come more easily than others.

For those of us with a leaning toward perfectionism it is especially difficult to relax and take it easy, for example.

Almost never do I naturally come up with the good idea to rest, to reflect, to actually seek God’s will through concerted effort.

My seeking consists of spurts of prayer and halfhearted meditation. The attention economy has infiltrated most areas of my day.

But there are times when I have retreated to reflect. Prayer and fasting sounds way old school, but it’s a phenomenal way to redirect my attention back to God.

It’s a brute force method that works. And because it’s extreme, it’s actually pretty attractive to us alcoholics and addicts.

God, direct my attention first to you.

SPONSOR

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NEXT

When you’re ready, here are some tools for you:

1. Book List (amazon link)
   Some of my favorite reads related to recovery and/or wrestling with faith.

2. 4th Step Guide (free download)
   A PDF with instructions and worksheets for a thorough 4th step. Straight from the Big Book. Fearlessness not included.

3. 12-Step Christianity (YouTube)
   My thoughts on the parallels between discipleship and sponsorship.

KEEP LEANING FORWARD

Cheers, Eamonn
Contact on LinkedIn, YouTube & Twitter.