A funny thought about God's willA funny thought about God's will
LOL Sober
Nelson shares a funny meeting quote and a muddy tug-of-war story to show how fighting God’s will or the universe rarely goes well. The episode mixes humour and recovery reflections about acceptance, control, and choosing better responses in sobriety.
4:08•16 Jun 2026
Losing Tug of War With God’s Will (and Laughing About It)
Episode Overview
- Accepting God's will is framed as accepting what the world throws at you, rather than a fixed divine script.
- Nelson sees God's will as asking what the best next choice is for both himself and others after something happens.
- A meeting share about taking back one’s will, only to have God take it back because "God is strong," highlights the futility of trying to control everything.
- The tug-of-war story with fifth graders shows how fighting bigger forces often ends with being dragged through the mud, literally and figuratively.
- The message leans towards dropping the rope in that unwinnable tug of war and easing into acceptance instead of constant struggle.
“"How many of us spend large chunks of our lives battling to win a tug of war against stuff that is so much bigger than us?"”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? In this short, punchy episode of LOL Sober, Nelson – an alcoholic addict using a pen name – cracks open a very relatable topic: trying (and failing) to wrestle control back from the universe, or "God's will," and laughing at the absurdity of it. Nelson talks about hearing a guy at a meeting say he keeps taking back his will, but "God always takes it back from him.
Because guess what? God is strong." That line hits home for him, not as some heavy sermon, but as a funny, painfully accurate snapshot of how many people in recovery (and "normies" too) keep getting into a losing tug of war with life.
He explains that his idea of God's will is less about a bearded figure in the clouds and more about accepting what the world throws at him and then asking, "What's the best choice I can make now – for me and for everyone else?" It's practical, a bit scrappy, and very human. The highlight is his story from his daughter's school field day, where he volunteers as referee for a tug of war.
Trying to "help" the weaker team, he secretly yanks the rope harder and harder, only to nearly get dragged across the wet ground by a group of fifth graders. Muddy, bruised, and beaten by kids, he realises it's a perfect metaphor for his life-long habit of fighting forces way bigger than him. This episode is ideal if you're sober, sober-curious, or just tired of trying to control everything, and you want a laugh that still makes you think.
Where might you be in your own tug of war – and what would happen if you finally let go of the rope?
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