“My happiness was going to happen as a result of the next best thing.”

There’s a real difference between happiness and joy. The sources of happiness are very fleeting. Buy something new and see how fleeting it is. That new car, that new house, they lose their luster in a mere few weeks. True joy is foundational. It’s a basis of God’s love for us. Finding your joy may also require that you dismantle the false construct that your life is all about you. When we can face our own painful situation, we will discover that hidden in the pain is the treasure; a joy that is there for us. As our journey through a few dark nights of the soul unfold, we relinquish the overwhelming chatter of ego, a feat that is all struggle and many setbacks. That is what the spiritual life—the life with God—is all about.

Persistence is necessary if you are to advance in spiritual things. By persistent prayer, persistent, firm, and simple trust, you achieve the treasures of the spirit. By persistent practice, you can eventually obtain joy, peace, assurance, security, health, happiness, and serenity. Nothing is too great, in the spiritual realm, for you to obtain, if you persistently prepare yourself for it.

We had to surrender to the reality of our illness, surrender to our Higher Power, surrender to a program, surrender to the Steps of recovery. Control is an illusion. Surrender asks us to face reality and use our energies more wisely. Do I still believe in the illusion of control? Prayer for the Day Higher Power, today I surrender myself into Your loving arms. Help me to turn to You and others whenever I want to control life and others. Teach me to embrace Your loving spirit, to follow Your perfect rhythm, not mine.