Step 2 – A Belief

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

This might be a hard step for anyone that’s not currently spiritual or doesn’t already believe in a Higher Power. The key thing to remember here is that you’re not committing to a lifelong attendance in church or a vow of poverty, chastity, or anything else. This is FOR YOU. It’s a subsequent admission of the state of your life, or rather, the state of the problem that you’re working on.

This step isn’t’ about accepting someone else’s idea of a Higher Power. If you read through any of the A.A. materials, you’ll notice that they use the phrase, “God as you understand Him”. It doesn’t matter if you believe in Allah, Jesus, Buddha, or the Great Universe; this isn’t religion, its spirituality. And Spirituality is a vital component of the human existence. On this path, it’s even more important.

You see, you’ve already accepted that there is an area of your life that is out of control and YOU can’t fix it on your own. That’s where your Higher Power comes into play. See, there IS a higher Power that can help you to overcome and fix whatever your specific problem is. That’s the ultimate purpose of this step. To get you to a point where you stop relying solely on yourself and reach out for help.


So, let’s break it down and see what we’re really doing in this step.

1. Came to believe – This implies that you didn’t believe in the help in the first place. That you had to come to a belief. This is definitely true; otherwise, you’d have already had the help to manage whatever you can’t manage right now. Let’s face it, what we’ve been doing hasn’t really been working, has it?

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
- Albert Einstein

I think it’s time to rely on something bigger than ourselves to help fix the problem. Don’t you?

2. that a Power greater than ourselves – This is the real meat of the step. That we find ourselves a Power that is GREATER than ourselves. A Higher Power that is able to do the things that you aren’t able to right now. Your Power doesn’t have to be the same as my Power, that’s not part of the requirements. What is required is that you realize and accept that you CANNOT fix this by yourself. That you do indeed need help and no other person will be able to give you that help. Part of the problem is that you’re not just dealing with stopping something; you’re dealing with CHANGING a part of your life. The reality of this fact is that the only true help you have is from a Higher Power. Other people can’t help you change behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. Unless you sign up for shock therapy, and even that’s no very effective. :-)

3. could restore us to sanity – This is almost like a promise. The light at the end of the long tunnel. With the help of your Higher Power, you can finally get your life under control and manageable. Granted, it’s not the end of the process, but rather the beginning, one of the first points where true healing and change can start from.


These first steps are, in truth, the beginning of acceptance of the state of your problem. They are the point where you come to realize that what you are trying to fix is out of control, beyond your ability to fix, and causing your life to spiral in a way that causes you pain. That is why it is SO important that every time you go through the 12 Steps that you don’t skip over the first few. They give you a foundation to build from where no foundation existed before.

One other thing that comes about through this step is the beginnings of a Spiritual growth and journey that you may never have experienced before. When you come to rely on a Power greater than yourself, you are surrendering yourself to Its guidance, wisdom, protection, and love. From there you might be amazed at the turns that your life will take.

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
- Matthew 19:26