Walk in Dry Places - May 6 2026

Dealing with Fear

 Challenges

Some of us suffer from a free-floating anxiety that is like a general fear, while others have specific fears that cause distress. Sometimes the specific fears are easier to face, because they can at least be identified. Most of us dread that other kind— a sort of general apprehension that things are not well or that something very bad is about to happen.
It’s reasonable to have some fear when facing trouble or risk. It’s unreasonable, however, to let fear keep us from acting in our own best interests. A review of the past may show that may of us did that while drinking– and brought even more calamities upon ourselves.
Whatever the fear, the answer is always the same. We must apply our principles to the problem, take ay reasonable action and then place the outcome in God’s hands. No person can do more than this.
This will not bring permanent victory over fear. It will however, give us confidence in the program as a tool for dealing with fears that arise in the future.


I may have to deal with fear today, but I will accept it as part of the human condition. I know that I have great spiritual resources to deal with any fear that might arise, and this gives me confidence and reassurance.

EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrec #Willingness #Challenges

WILLINGNESS

God is not willing to do everything and thus take away our free will and the share of glory which belongs to us.

~ Machiavelli ~

To be willing is to be ready and prepared. If we are willing, we are eager to accept even unfamiliar challenges if those challenges promise rewarding results.

Willingness is not to be confused with being wilful. Wilfulness can return us to our old habits of wanting everything our way and on our own terms. Willingness prepares us to accept responsibilities. It gives us courage to change our attitudes. It rids us of fears of living in an imperfect world.

We have become willing to practice the principles of the Program, willing to continue our spiritual progress, and willing to work at our new way of life.

I can always profit by being strong-willed, as long as that means “strong-willingness,” not hard-headedness.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.

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Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

Meeting The Day’s Challenge

“…the decision to ask for God’s help is our greatest source of strength and courage.” 

Basic Text, p. 26

A challenge is anything that dares us to succeed. Things new and unfamiliar serve as challenges, whether those things appear good or bad to us. We are challenged by obstacles and opposition from within ourselves and from without. New and difficult things, obstacles and opposition, all are a part of “life on life’s terms” Living clean means learning to meet challenge.

Many of us, consciously or unconsciously, took drugs to avoid meeting challenge. Many of us were equally afraid of failure and success. Each time we declined the day’s challenge, we suffered a loss of self-esteem. Some of us used drugs to mask the shame we felt. Each time we did that, we became even less able to meet our challenges and more likely to use.

By working the NA program, we’ve found the tools we need to successfully meet any challenge. We’ve come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, a Power that cares for our will and our lives. We’ve asked that Power to remove our character defects, those things that made our lives unmanageable. We’ve taken action to improve our conscious contact with that Higher Power. Through the steps, we’ve been given the ability to stop using drugs and start living.

Each day, we are faced with new challenges. And each day, through working our program of recovery, we are given the grace to meet those challenges.

Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to help me squarely meet today’s challenge. 

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THE CHALLENGE OF FAILURE

In God’s economy, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is.

~ AS BILL SEES IT, p. 31 

How thankful I am today, to know that all my past failures were necessary for me to be where I am now. Through much pain came experience and, in suffering, I became obedient. When I sought God, as I understand Him, He shared His treasured gifts. Through experience and obedience, growth started, followed by gratitude. Yes, then came peace of mind—living in and sharing sobriety.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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