Step 3 states, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.” Many people think step 3 means we turn our will and our lives over to God and feel overwhelmed thinking, “how do I do that?” Note that step 3 only says we made a decision. Decision is defined as “making up one’s own mind.” Steps 4 through 9 are the action steps you must take to make your surrender complete. Then you get to live in 10,11, 12 to maintain your spiritual sobriety.

Think of it like this. You make a decision to have a sandwich for lunch. That decision is not going to cause a sandwich to show up on your plate. You will have to take action: getting off your butt, going to the kitchen and making the sandwich.

Now let’s look at the words will and life. Will is defined as our thinking and what motivates us. Life is defined as all the actions we have taken up to this moment.
Step 3 is an admission that your way up until now has not worked. Your will has gotten you a life riddled with addiction and the wreckage that goes along with it. Thus, you are making a decision to do it differently and turn to God.

God is defined as the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. It is not necessary for you to buy this definition to successfully take Step 3. It is necessary only to find a God of your understanding. Some people, choose the ocean, others choose love, others still choose the folks at the meeting. I have heard a popular way of finding a God of your understanding is to put out a “want ad” with all the qualities you choose your God to have. To each his own.

I love when I hear people simply the first three steps into “I can’t. He can. I’ll let him.” Once you have accepted Steps 1, 2 and 3, you are ready to get into the action steps of the program. Fasten your seat belts for major spiritual and personal transformation and a new and better way of life!