Why I Still Believe

I’ve believed in God all my life, but I haven’t always lived in a way that reflected that belief.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes, gone through difficult periods, and made decisions that didn’t exactly help my situation. Looking back, there are things I wish I’d handled differently.

One of those things was alcohol.

There was a time when drinking had become part of my life in a way that wasn’t doing me any good. Eventually, I reached a point where I knew I needed to make a change.

So I stopped.

And what happened next is something I’ve never really been able to explain.

A Change I Didn’t Expect

When I decided to quit drinking, I stopped completely. No gradually cutting back, no going back and forth. I just quit.

What surprises me, even today, is that the desire to drink disappeared.

I haven’t had a drink since. I’ve never relapsed, and I haven’t spent the years since fighting the urge to start again.

It’s almost as though that part of my life simply ended.

I don’t talk about it very often because I know how difficult addiction and recovery can be for other people. I’ve seen people struggle tremendously, and I would never suggest that my experience is typical or that someone else should expect the same outcome.

But it is what happened to me.

And I believe God had a hand in it.

I made the decision to stop drinking, but I genuinely believe God helped me in a way I couldn’t have anticipated.

Faith Doesn’t Replace Effort

Something I’ve always believed is that God will provide, but that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to sit around waiting for things to happen.

We have to be willing to do our part.

If I want to accomplish something, I need to put in the work. If something in my life needs to change, I need to take responsibility for changing it.

That’s how I’ve tried to approach things, especially since getting sober.

I made the decision to straighten out my life, and I put a lot of effort into doing exactly that.

But I also believe God was there helping me along the way.

To me, those two things aren’t in conflict. Recognizing God’s blessings doesn’t mean ignoring the work it took to get somewhere. And acknowledging my own effort doesn’t mean I believe I accomplished everything on my own.

Looking at Where Life Has Taken Me

Since making those changes, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience things I once could only hope for.

I have a career I genuinely enjoy. I’ve had opportunities to travel around the world, experience different places, and accomplish goals that once seemed a long way off.

I’ve been able to pursue my interests, take on projects, learn new things, and do work that I find rewarding.

None of that happened because I stopped trying and waited for good things to come my way.

I’ve worked hard to get where I am.

But when I look at the opportunities I’ve been given, the people who’ve helped me, and the way things have come together over the years, I don’t believe it’s all been coincidence.

I believe God has blessed me in ways I never could have predicted.

That doesn’t mean everything has gone perfectly. I’ve still experienced disappointment, loss, and difficult circumstances. Being a Christian hasn’t made me immune to any of that.

But I can look at my life today and recognize just how much I have to be thankful for.

Why I Still Believe

I can’t prove to someone else that God was responsible for the changes I’ve experienced.

I can explain what happened, what I believe, and why those experiences matter to me. Someone else might look at the same events and reach a different conclusion.

I understand that.

But I know what my life was like before, and I know what it’s like now.

I know that when I made the decision to stop drinking, the desire disappeared and never returned. I know how much my life has changed since then. And I know how many opportunities I’ve had to do things I once only dreamed about.

I believe God’s grace has been a part of all of it.

I don’t think that means I’ve earned His blessings, or that everyone who works hard will have the same experiences I’ve had.

I simply believe that when I finally started making the changes I needed to make, God was there to help me.

I still have plenty to learn, and I certainly haven’t reached a point where I have everything figured out.

But when I look back at where I’ve been and where I am today, I have a hard time seeing it as anything other than God’s work in my life.

And that’s why I still believe.