Step Two: "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
Came to Believe. Notice the step is written in the past tense. The original steps were written to share the process that the original members of AA went through in recovery. There was a process through which they came to believe.
It is really a simple process. You come to believe many things during your lifetime. For example, you came to believe that there was a Santa Claus. Later you came to believe that there wasn't a Santa Claus. As you grew older, you may have come to believe that a certain person liked you, and later realized they didn't like you. We come to believe certain religious and political positions. There is some consistency to this process throughout our lives. In this process, there is a definite point at which you understand or come to believe.
In Twelve Step groups, the process of coming to believe is something that often happens as a result of exposure to other recovering people. You may not necessarily know the date or the hour when you did come to believe, but you know that you feel differently, and you begin to have hope. This is so important in recovery, because knowing that you have come to believe, or knowing you do believe can save your life. Sex addicts can get down, feel hopeless or worth less, experience severe shame and guilt from past traumas or present circumstances, and resort to sad behaviors of destruction, isolation, sexual acting out and suicidal ideation. If you have come to believe, you have hope that God cares for you, loves you and accepts you.