Halfway through the 12 Steps – Step Six
“[We] were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character”
This is a process of relinquishing our illusion of control, one defect at a time. The goal here is spiritual release, not spiritual self-punishment.
A Hunger for Healing explains, “When we tried to clean ourselves up with our own power and ‘discipline’ we kept ourselves agitated, confused, in denial, and worn out, and we were in almost constant emotional pain. We were like the man who tore the scab off his arm every morning to see if his wound had healed. But it was in doing the sixth Step that I saw why I had become so exhausted. I’d been trying to do God’s part in the spiritual growth and healing process.”
Step 6 is a step of reflection and preparation for significant changes in our lives, a chance to make sure that we are ready. We need to make sure in our own hearts and minds that we are truly willing for God to remove the defects of character that have enabled our addictive behaviors.
Serenity, A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery tells us, “For most of us, this process is ongoing. We will not be healed and sent forward immediately; rather, recovery will be a daily effort to evaluate, balance, and adjust the healthy expression of all of our God-given needs.”
A Hunger for Healing explains that the step would show “how God’s power is released to flow through our lives to clean them, only when we quit trying to control how and when he is to use that power.”
So often we try to tell God how we want things to go, or beg. But letting go and letting God means we have to release our control, even over our healing. The process might also mean letting go of other things in our lives–getting out of our own way in order to allow God to do the work that needs to be done.
N.A.’s basic text explains further: “When we are working Step Six, it is important to remember that we are human and should not place unrealistic expectations on ourselves. This is a step of willingness. That is the spiritual principle of Step Six. It is as if to say that we are now willing to move in a spiritual direction. Being human we will, of course, wander…. We need not lose faith when we become rebellious. The indifference or intolerance that rebellion can bring out in us has to be overcome by persistent effort.”
The Twelve Step Program plays a large part in the recovery process at Transitions Recovery.
