Psalm 46: He makes wars cease to the end of the earth

From Psalms

Psalm 46
(For the Director of Music.  Of the sons of Korah.  According to alamoth.  A song.)


¹God is our refuge and strength,
      a very present help in trouble.
²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
      and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
      though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.        Selah

⁴There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
      the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
      God shall help her, and that right early.
⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
      he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us;
      the God of Jacob is our refuge.                                           Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD,
      what desolations he hath made in the earth.
⁹He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
      he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
      he burneth the chariot in the fire.
¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God:
      I will be exalted among the heathen,
      I will be exalted in the earth.

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us;
      the God of Jacob is our refuge.                                            Selah

Today I wanted to capture the first part of verse 9 because to me the ability to make wars cease is pretty powerful.  In order for wars to cease people need to change.  People need to be awakened to something that is flawed in their beliefs.  Often these beliefs have been formed over a long period of time and are deep rooted.  This makes letting go of them a very difficult thing to do.  Not only that but at a certain point in time it requires admitting a wrong or specific mistake and admitting the flawed belief.  Then to take it one step further both sides usually need to make that step to find some middle ground.

As I walk through all of this it becomes apparent that this work that God does to end wars is present in other areas of our lives not quite so dramatic as wars.  This change and shift in thinking is part of recovery from addiction.  It is part of families restoring broken relationships.  It's the same as normal course of relations with neighbors and co-workers.

Today I will be praying to God to help me see areas where I have been wrong and where I need to patch things up and seek forgiveness of my mistakes.  On the flip side, I will also be praying for areas where I have been wronged and for the strength to be open about that and to ask for what I need to make things better.  I will also pray the same for your life.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 45:17: I will make thy name remembered in all generations

From Psalms

Psalm 45:17

¹⁷I will make thy name to be remembered
      in all generations:
therefore shall the people praise thee
      for ever and ever.

There's really no reason to procrastinate on a one verse entry is there?

But this one verse kind of says what this blog is about.  Praising the name of the Lord for the whole world to see how it was that I could conquer my addictions.  That people can see that my victory over my addictions may bear witness of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy way of life.  If that line sounds familiar it's from the last half of the third step prayer.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 45:1-16:Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children

From Psalms

Psalm 45
(For the director of music.  To the tune of "Lilies," Of the Sons of Korah.  A maskil.  A wedding song.)

¹My heart is inditing a good matter:
      I speak of the things which I have made touching the king:
      my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

²Thou art fairer than the children of men:
      grace is poured into thy lips:
      therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
³Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty,
      with thy glory and thy majesty.
⁴And in thy majesty ride prosperously
      because of truth and meekness and righteousness;
      and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
⁵Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies;
      whereby the people fall under thee.
⁶Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
      the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
⁷Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness:
      therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
      with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
⁸All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,
      out of the ivory palaces,
      whereby they have made thee glad.

⁹Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women:
      upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear;
      forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;
¹¹So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty:
      for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
¹²And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift;
      even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.

¹³The king's daughter is all glorious within:
      her clothing is of wrought gold.
¹⁴She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework:
      the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
¹⁵With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought:
      they shall enter into the king's palace.

¹⁶Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
      whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

Quite a different theme than Psalm 44's prayer of lamentation from my last post.  This is the joy and splendor of the Lord, the gift of wedding and marriage.  It's all quite beautiful and appeals to all the senses.

I've been procrastinating on this psalm for a while, not quite sure what to say or how to say it.  So, I'll just cut to the chase.  In this Psalm, the closing verse, which says that Children will replace their parents stands out for me.  It reminds of a saying my sponsor once told me.  The day we become sober from our addiction is the day our children become sober as well.  They learn from us - and if we can be free from alcohol, drugs, gambling and porn; and have healthy behaviors towards sex, love and food they can learn that, too.

Be sober for your children or else they will grow up to be addicts - as a son of an alcoholic I know this.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 44:16-26: For he knoweth the secrets of the heart

From Psalms

Psalm 44 verses 16-26

¹⁶For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth;
      by reason of the enemy and avenger.

¹⁷All this is come upon us;
      yet have we not forgotten thee,
      neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
¹⁸Our heart is not turned back,
      neither have our steps declined from thy way;
¹⁹Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,
      and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰If we have forgotten the name of our God,
      or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
²¹Shall not God search this out?
      for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
²²Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long;
      we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?
      arise, cast us not off for ever.
²⁴Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
      and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵For our soul is bowed down to the dust:
      our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
²⁶Arise for our help,
      and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

After meditating on these verses, reading and re-reading, the title verse from verse from verse 21 stands out to me.  God does know the secrets of our hearts.  He knows when we are being honest and when we are not.  He knows when we are not being true and when we are dealt falsely in thy covenant.

I have written in these blogs previously that when I feel like God has forgotten me, it turns out that it is I who have forgotten God.  However, in today's psalm the writer swears that is absolutely not the case.  Could that be?  Ins't God is always near us?  Under what circumstances would God punish a person who keeps God and his laws close to him?  To answer this, I'd like to look at Job, which just happens to be right ahead of psalms in the bible.

Job is extremely devout and blessed, prosperous with a large family of 10 children.  Satan convinces God that Job is only devout because of his blessings, and that without his possessions and children he would curse God.  So God allows Satan to test his loyalty and destroys his possessions and kills all children.  Instead of cursing God, Job seems to become more devoted to God.  So Satan steps it up with more personal afflictions in hopes of turning Job against God.  Job does not respond with a typical prayer of lamentation but rather asks for trial from God.  God finds him innocent and blameless, because he knows Job's heart, and allows him to return to a normal life without turmoil.

Why is this important?  Because this story teaches us that we should always trust in God.  Trust in the plan he has for us.  Whether our lives are prosperous or whether they are in turmoil.  In our problems, God may be testing us or may be teaching us but we should never forget him because in doing so he will never forget us.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 44:1-15 (KJV): I will not trust in my bow

From Psalms

Psalm 44
(For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil)

¹We have heard with our ears, O God,
      our fathers have told us,
what work thou didst in their days,
      in the times of old.
²How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand,
      and plantedst them;
how thou didst afflict the people,
      and cast them out.
³For they got not the land in possession
      by their own sword,
      neither did their own arm save them:
but thy right hand, and thine arm,
      and the light of thy countenance,
      because thou hadst a favour unto them.

⁴Thou art my King, O God:
command deliverances for Jacob.
⁵Through thee will we push down our enemies:
      through thy name will we tread them under
      that rise up against us.
⁶For I will not trust in my bow,
      neither shall my sword save me.
⁷But thou hast saved us from our enemies,
      and hast put them to shame that hated us.
⁸In God we boast all the day long,
      and praise thy name for ever.                                   Selah.

⁹But thou hast cast off,
and put us to shame;
      and goest not forth with our armies.
¹⁰Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy:
      and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
¹¹Thou hast given us like sheep
      appointed for meat;
and hast scattered us
      among the heathen.
¹²Thou sellest thy people for nought,
      and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

¹³Thou makest us a reproach
      to our neighbours,
a scorn and a derision
      to them that are round about us.
¹⁴Thou makest us a byword
      among the heathen,
a shaking of the head among the people.
¹⁵My confusion is continually before me,
      and the shame of my face hath covered me,

This is a deeply honest psalm.  Clearly written when God had turned the Isrealites over to their enemies.  A time when the people were not doing God's will.  So, it seems, God would let the people fail while doing things by their own will.  In verses 8-15 we see what happens when we follow our own will.  "My confusion is continually before me,"  and "Thou makest reproach to our neighbors."  These feeling are not uncommon for addicts and alcoholics.  In fact, these are daily occurrences in the lives of addicts.  So, we learn, as most of did in step three, to hand our lives over to the will of God.

Additionally, I think its important to note what got us to this point.  For me, it was trusting in things, idols, that have no place to be trusted.  Like, the bow in this psalm, I trust not in money, titles, houses, or any other object.  Those things will not protect me.  I need to trust in the Lord and that he will work in my life in the people around me.  When I have problems I need to stop trying to fix it myself.  When I have a problem I need to pray, I need to share my problem with those around me, and trust that the lord will guide me in an answer.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 43 (KJV):Why are thou cast down, O my soul?

From Psalms

Psalm 43

¹Judge me, O God,
and plead my cause against
      an ungodly nation:
O deliver me from
      the deceitful and unjust man.
²For thou art the God of my strength:
why dost thou cast me off?
why go I mourning
      because of the oppression of the enemy?

³O send out thy light and thy truth:
      let them lead me;
let them bring me unto thy holy hill,
      and to thy tabernacles.
⁴Then will I go unto the altar of God,
      unto God my exceeding joy:
yea, upon the harp
      will I praise thee,
      O God my God.

⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted within me?
      hope in God:
for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance,
      and my God.

Why are thou cast down, O my soul?  and why are thou disquieted within me?  Which has also been translated as, "Why am I discouraged?  Why am I restless?"  It came up yesterday in Psalm 42 and it returns in Psalm 43.  Why is this a constant theme?  Maybe because its not uncommon to have these questions.  Even as Christians.

I mean this is only natural.  Especially when bad things happen to good people.  When, a friend of mine, a mother of three gets breast cancer.  Or another friend loses his job.  The most effective way to handle these situations, and bring true peace into our lives, is to keep God close to us.  It's these situations that God will shine through for us.  He will guide us in what is important, deliver us from evil, help us find joy and peace a midst uncertain circumstances.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 42 (KJV): My soul thirsteth for God

From Psalms

Psalm 42
(A special psalm for the people of Korah and the music leader.)

¹As the hart panteth
      after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul
      after thee, O God.
²My soul thirsteth for God,
for the living God:
      when shall I come and appear before God?
³My tears have been my meat
      day and night,
while they continually say unto me,
      Where is thy God?

⁴When I remember these things,
      I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude,
      I went with them to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
      with a multitude that kept holyday.
⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
      hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him
for the help of his countenance.


⁶O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
      therefore will I remember thee
from the land of Jordan,
and of the Hermonites,
      from the hill Mizar.
⁷Deep calleth unto deep
      at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and
      thy billows are gone over me.
⁸Yet the LORD will command
      his lovingkindness in the day time,
and in the night his song shall be with me,
and my prayer unto
      the God of my life.

⁹I will say unto God my rock,
      Why hast thou forgotten me?
why go I mourning
      because of the oppression of the enemy?
¹⁰As with a sword in my bones,
      mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me,
      Where is thy God?

¹¹Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted within me?
      hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance,
      and my God.

Oh, it's good to get back reading psalms.  Like a breath of fresh air they calm my soul and give me strength.  Unfortunately, when I got to the end of book 1 I was out of scanned images of my psalms.  So, I had to take several days getting those ready.  Thankfully though that is mostly behind me and I can get back to reading, writing and praying psalms because that's where God guides me and assures me.

There is a lot of things going on in my life, at work and at home.  I need this time to read and meditate and pray to help put things into perspective and remove the worry and anxiety.  Neither worry or anxiety are productive - and both tend to put me in a risky place where my addictive reflexes start to show through in my thoughts.  However, with prayer, and the perspective that comes with it, that worry and anxiety slips away.

It's easy to relate these thoughts to this psalm.  My soul doesn't just thirst right now - it downright aches.  Thankfully I have God, my rock.  Sometimes I ask God, "Why have you forgotten me?"  I realize then, after a week or so without solid prayer - it is I who has forgotten him.  Again, I put my hope and trust in the Lord and am strong, again.  At night his song is with me.  During the day I am blessed with his love.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 41 (KJV):As for me, thou upholdest me, and settest me before thy face for ever

From Psalms

Psalm 41
(For the director of music. A psalm of David.)

¹Blessed is he that considereth the poor:
      the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
²The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive;
      and he shall be blessed upon the earth:
      and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
³The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing:
      thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

⁴I said, LORD, be merciful unto me:
      heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
⁵Mine enemies speak evil of me,
      When shall he die, and his name perish?
⁶And if he come to see me,
      he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself;
      when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.

⁷All that hate me whisper together against me:
      against me do they devise my hurt.
⁸An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him:
      and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
⁹Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
      which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me,
      and raise me up, that I may requite them.
¹¹By this I know that thou favourest me,
      because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
¹²And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity,
      and settest me before thy face for ever.

¹³Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
      from everlasting, and to everlasting.
Amen, and Amen.

Milestones are a good thing. They help us mark progress.  I have made many milestones in the short time of this blog.  I have completed step 7.  I have made it to 9 months of sobriety.  And now I have made to the end of book I of Psalms.

It feels like a better day...the clouds of my days seem to be drifting.  The adrenaline that I've been running on is wearing out.  I heard a great song on the radio today, which is a great symbol of that - "In the middle of my little mess I forget how big I'm blessed."  As Psalm 41 says today in verse 11, "By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.  And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever."

Blessed be the Lord, AMEN AND AMEN.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 40:17 (KJV): But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me

From Psalms

Psalm 40:17

¹⁷But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Have you ever had one of those days where you want to be something - you want to show that you lead and are in control?  However, none of your plans seem to line-up?  Where you think you have all of the information you need to make a decision only to find that you don't?  When somebody you thought you could count on bails - and their behavior reflects more on you than it does on them?

I'm having one of those days - where I wanted so badly for something to go perfectly...and it just is not.  I am trying to do something I did before and failed at.  I'm not sure I really failed at it, but I feel like I failed at before.  Nevertheless, I thought I was ready to try it again.  I have a feeling a may be blowing this out of proportion - the way any good addict does.  I know it's not the end of the world - but I certainly feel like a fool.  I feel like people think I'm insane...and out of control.

In this regard I am needy.  Yet I know the Lord thinketh upon me.  He is my help and deliverer.  Please God just help me through the next few days and let me come out relatively unscathed - deliver and help me.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 40:1-16 (KJV): The Lord heard my cry, brought me up out of an horrible pit

From Psalms

Psalm 40:1-16
(For the director of music. Of David. A Psalm.)

¹I waited patiently for the LORD;
      and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
²He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,
      out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
      and established my goings.
³And he hath put a new song in my mouth,
      even praise unto our God:
many shall see it, and fear,
      and shall trust in the LORD.

⁴Blessed is that man
      that maketh the LORD his trust,
and respecteth not the proud,
      nor such as turn aside to lies.
⁵Many, O LORD my God,
      are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
      they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
      they are more than can be numbered.

⁶Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;
      mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering
      hast thou not required.
⁷Then said I, Lo, I come:
      in the volume of the book it is written of me,
⁸I delight to do thy will, O my God:
      yea, thy law is within my heart.

⁹I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:
      lo, I have not refrained my lips,
      O LORD, thou knowest.
¹⁰I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
      I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation:
I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth
      from the great congregation.

¹¹Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD:
      let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
¹²For innumerable evils have compassed me about:
      mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of mine head:
      therefore my heart faileth me.

¹³Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me:
      O LORD, make haste to help me.
¹⁴Let them be ashamed and confounded together
      that seek after my soul to destroy it;
let them be driven backward and put to shame
      that wish me evil.
¹⁵Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
      that say unto me, Aha, aha.
¹⁶Let all those that seek thee
      rejoice and be glad in thee:
let such as love thy salvation say continually,
      The LORD be magnified.

Working all 12 steps and going through all 150 psalms is a long time - and it seems I am barely halfway through.  However, through both of these I have been patient and diligent.  In my patience God has seen fit to pull me out of my pit of addiction (see Psalm 7).

Although I may go through periods of stress or uncertainty where part of me is looking to turn to my addictions I know I can always turn to the Lord.  Even in days when the stress and uncertainty doesn't turn me to my addiction I now turn to the Lord.  Like today I need help with my marriage - things are incredibly tense between me and my wife right now.  Despite all that I am not feeling a need right now to turn to my addiction.  I am able to share it with my Lord and he is starting to present other options in my life.

Then to move on to verse three.  Quite literally, as I make my journey through recovery, I find that the Lord has put a new song in my heart.  I now find my self listening to Christian radio stations.  This is something that I never used to do.  However, I find that they help bridge that gap between Sundays and put the rest of my life.  Some days, in fact, I'm not sure what I would do without them.

Thanks for letting me share.