Psalm 141: Let the righteous smite me; it shall be kindness

Psalm 141
(A psalm of David.)

¹LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me;
      give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
²Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense;
      and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

³Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth;
      keep the door of my lips.
⁴Incline not my heart to any evil thing,
      to practise wicked works
with men that work iniquity:
      and let me not eat of their dainties.

⁵Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness:
      and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil,
which shall not break my head:
      for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

⁶When their judges are overthrown in stony places,
      they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
⁷Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,
      as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.

⁸But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the LORD:
      in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
⁹Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me,
      and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
      whilst that I withal escape.

Hi my name is Rex and I'm an alcoholic and a sex addict.  This is the most honest thing I can say about myself.  It's cleansing, kind of a relief, to share this, which I hide and I lie about everyday.  All day long we hide behind facades of what we think we are and how we think people perceive us.  Behind those facades where we hide our weaknesses, our threats, our fears, our lies...and of course our addictions.  As I read verse 5 of psalm 141 I realize that we need to expose these things in order to start the recovery process.  Having a righteous person reprove or rebuke us is one way to help us expose these weaknesses.  In this way it kindness and oil on our head.  Obviously, in the moment, exposing and acknowledging these weaknesses and short coming is never painless.  However, it is a necessary step in the recovery process.  Recovery can never happen without admitting to these weaknesses and fears.  Therefore exposing them is a gift.  After all we are all human and all suffer from some weaknesses and fears.  Recovery is about changing the way we respond to their existence.

Dear God, as the psalmist...err...David, in this case, writes: "Incline not my heart to any evil thing," and further, "Keep me from the snares which" which evil men have laid for me.  Instead, help me keep "mine eyes unto thee, O God the Lord."  For it is in Your name and Your word that I have faith.  When I focus on You and Your word I am not tempted.  As long as I maintain this focus, You give me the strength to overcome my temptations.  For this I am grateful.  Let my example also help and give strength to the other addicts that suffer.  Let my example also help expose the weaknesses and lies for those other addicts - that they, too, may start their process of recovery.  It is in Your name and Your word that I pray.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.