There is a popular prayer by Saint Theresa of Calcutta entitled “I Thirst.” The powerful meditation considers the words of Jesus on the cross, and the longing he holds in his heart for each one of us. Among the many beautiful words of this poem is the following: “I thirst for you- just as you are. You do not have to change to believe in my love, for it will be your belief in my love that changes you.” These poignant words have always sat on my heart in a unique way, and after completing this course, I find that their meaning has taken shape in a particular way.

 

 In the wonderful book Spiritual Passages, by Benedict Groeschel, he examines the notion of the four voices of God. This principle brings to our attention the reality that we all find God in different ways, and that discovery plays out in all of our lives differently. (Groeschel 6-11). “If you analyze yourself or those you know well in terms of the spiritual life, you will notice that most people fit rather well into one or perhaps two categories” (Groeschel 6). One of these pathways is not better than any other, it’s just that for most of us, one of these voices tends to be more prominent in our lives then another.

 

He goes on to say: “We are all led by the divine and by one, or perhaps two, of the four voices of God, although the others are never entirely absent. The danger is always is settling for less” (Groeschel 11). What a wonderful and important consolation these concepts offer us! We don’t have to change to believe in his love. If I hear the voice of God as one, or true, I am not expected to change that reality in order to hear his voice. He speaks to each and every one of us, guided by the voice that touches us most effectively. If I hear the voice of God as beautiful, I do not need to change to hearing God as true. Hearing the voice of God as beautiful is perfectly fine, just as hearing the voice of God as true is likewise fine. So deeply does he thirst for us, that he speaks to us in four different voices, so that no one is left bending an ear to silence. Truly, he thirsts for us.

 

Identifying how we hear the voice of God is wonderful, but only a small part of the spiritual life. He calls us not simply for the sake of calling, but rather to bring us along to change – to be converted more deeply to the heart of his son. It will be our belief in his love that will change us!

 

 We are told in recovery that as a result of the hard work that goes into “working the steps,” there are certain promises that are sure to unfold for us in our lives. It describes a change that all of us in recovery will experience. This section of “The Big Book” reads as follows:

 

“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.

 

We know a new freedom and happiness.

We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

We will comprehend the word “serenity”.

We will know peace.

We will see how our experiences would benefit others.

That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.

We will lose interest in selfish things.

Self-seeking will slip away.

Our whole attitude and outlook on life will change.

Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.

We will intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle us.

We will realize that God is doing for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

 

Are these extravagant promises?  We think not.  They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.  They will always materialize if we work for them” (Alcoholics Anonymous 83-84).

 

I have heard these words for nearly a decade, meeting after meeting. Groeschel likewise assures us of these promises in the roadmap he provides through the Three Phases of Spiritual Development, and these promises are the very change that will happen as a result of our belief in his love. In the scheme he lays out in the text, Groeschel tells us that as our prayer life grows these changes will happen organically. The anxiety driven prayer that is rooted in need will decrease as the sense of peace and freedom in God’s love increases. He tells us we will see an increase in zeal, and the drive to do things that will improve our world. We move further and further away from selfishness and towards total abandonment (Groeschel 118).

 

 “When the level of anxiety has finally fallen below the individual’s degree of peace and trust, when driven need is substantially less compelling then the freedom of the person, a new experience begins” (Groeschel 136).  This is exactly the same experience that is promised in the Big Book. We do not need to change to believe in his love, it will be belief in his love that will change us. We learn how to recognize his voice – to discover his love, so that we can believe in it. Then as we grow in that spiritual life, we will experience that very change described in AA’s Promises. Everything changes: things that used to baffle us are now manageable, our attitude will change, we will know peace, and will care more about others then ourselves.

 

Above all we have to be painstaking in our work. We have to commit to walking this spiritual road with the Lord. No one forcibly drags us through the three phases of Spiritual Development: it’s a process that is willingly chosen, a walk where the first steps are very intentional, and the change that will result is a promise.

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WORKS CITED

 

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2001). Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition. New York: A.A. World Services

 

Barry, William, and Connolly, William J: The Practice of Spiritual Direction. New York: Harper One, 2012. Print.

 

Groeschel, Benedict. Spiritual Passages: The Psychology of Spiritual Development. Chicago: Crossroads, 1984. Print.