Bill had been in the same fix so many times he had lost count. So had the doctor, who now stood shaking his head, looking down at Bill’s unshaven face and bloodshot eyes.

“I guess I’m hopeless, aren’t I, doctor?” Bill said.

“Yes, I guess you are.”

“Then how about giving me one more drink, since it won’t make any difference anyway.

“OK, I’ll give you a drink,” the doctor replied surprisingly. “But first you have to do a favor for me.”

“What’s that?” asked Bill.

“Down the hall,” replied the doctor, “is a young man who is in here for the first time. I’ve given up on you–but he might be able to change. I want you to go down to his room and just let him get a look at you–that’s all. Maybe if he sees you it will scare him enough to keep him from having to be brought in here again.”

Bill agreed, and went down the hall to find the young man who, like himself, had been brought to the hospital to dry out after a drunken spree.

At first he did it just to get one more drink. But Bill began talking to the young man. “Don’t waste your life,” he urged him. “Look at me. My family is gone, my self-respect is gone. I have no job; I have no friends. I’ve lost my health and my reputation. Do you want to end up like this?”

“I’ll never end up like you,” the young man insisted. “I can stop drinking any time I want to.”

“That’s what I always thought too,” Bill replied. “But it’s not true. I can’t stop. I’m helpless. The only way I’ll ever be able to quit is if God Himself gives me the strength. And that’s the only way you’ll ever be able to stop too. You don’t have the power to control your drinking, or you wouldn’t be here. You have to learn to depend upon a higher Power.”

Bill returned to the hospital many times after that day, but never again as a patient. He never went back to the doctor to collect the promised drink. He returned to talk to others who had been brought in under the same conditions, who were struggling with alcoholism. It was the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The principles that Bill discovered in his visit with that young man are the basis today of Alcoholics Anonymous. Each person must come to the point of admitting that he has a great need.

He is taught to begin by saying, “I am an alcoholic.” And he is constantly reminded of his dependence upon a higher Power, if the problem is ever to be controlled. In admitting and recognizing weakness he finds strength.

Each of us can make a similar confession: “I am a sinner.” We must realize as Christians that we don’t grow by becoming stronger and stronger. We grow by realizing anew each day how weak we are and how dependent we are upon God’s grace. That’s what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10:

“When I am weak, then am I strong.”

“When we have a realization of our weakness, we learn to depend upon a power not inherent.” – The Desire of Ages, p. 493.

This truth can be a threat to strong people. Those who have found security in their own backbone and self-discipline, who are comfortable because of their good behavior, find the thought of admitting weakness offensive. But the one who is strong, or thinks he is strong, feels no need of a Saviour.

Whether we admit it or not, whether we recognize it or not, every one of us is weak. Only as we become aware of our weakness can we be led to seek power outside of and above our own.

“Our greatest strength is realized when we feel and acknowledge our weakness.” – Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 70.

Do you consider yourself a strong person? You can be truly strong only as you find your strength in Him. Do you considered yourself weak? Then there’s good news for you! His strength is made perfect in weakness. See 2 Corinthians 12:9.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

No matter how strong you think you are, your only real strength comes as you admit your weakness. No matter how weak you are, you can be strong through Him.