Psalm 147 (KJV): The Lord doth...bindeth up their wounds

Psalm 147

¹Praise ye the LORD:

for it is good to sing praises unto our God;
      for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

²The LORD doth build up Jerusalem:
      he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
³He healeth the broken in heart,
      and bindeth up their wounds.
⁴He telleth the number of the stars;
      he calleth them all by their names.
⁵Great is our Lord, and of great power:
      his understanding is infinite.
⁶The LORD lifteth up the meek:
      he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

⁷Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
      sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
⁸Who covereth the heaven with clouds,
      who prepareth rain for the earth,
      who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
⁹He giveth to the beast his food,
      and to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
      he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
      in those that hope in his mercy.

¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem;
      praise thy God, O Zion.
¹³For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates;
      he hath blessed thy children within thee.
¹⁴He maketh peace in thy borders,
      and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
¹⁵He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth:
      his word runneth very swiftly.
¹⁶He giveth snow like wool:
      he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
¹⁷He casteth forth his ice like morsels:
      who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸He sendeth out his word, and melteth them:
      he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
¹⁹He sheweth his word unto Jacob,
      his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
²⁰He hath not dealt so with any nation:
      and as for his judgments, they have not known them.

Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 147 is the second of the five "Hallelu Yah" psalms, 146-150.  It's rather fitting to end the book of Psalms, and my journey, with the Psalms that "praise the Lord" (the literal meaning of Hallelu Yah).  The theme of this Hallelu Yah psalm is rebuilding of Isreal after the destruction from the Babylonians.  And like the Isrealites in Psalm 147, addicts have rebuilding to do.

Recovery from addiction is about healing, mending broken hearts and wounds - and of course rebuilding.  Rebuilding our lives and the lives of those around us, whose lives we impacted in our addiction.  For, as JK Rowling has said of her story, "Rock bottom is a great foundation to build success."  And so it is we call on our great and powerful God to start the process of rebuilding.

God, be with us today in our process of healing and rebuilding.  Some us are just starting and others are continuing.  Whatever the case, the path to recovery seems long - and often too difficult to be achievable.  Remind us that, just as Israel took a group of people over several years to rebuild, so too will our lives.  Remind us that it took several years for our addictions to break things apart - and that it will take several years to put it back together.  Be with us and give us the strength and support our process of rebuilding.  We do it to heal and mend our wounds.  We do it to rebuild our relationships.  Your greatness, God, makes for a great recovery.  I have seen Your love being rebuilt in my life, I pray that this is something I can share that others may see this love in their lives, too.  In Your name I pray - Hallelu Yah - Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 146: Happy is he...whose hope in the Lord

Psalm 146

¹Praise ye the LORD.
      Praise the LORD, O my soul.
²While I live will I praise the LORD:
      I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
³Put not your trust in princes,
      nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
      in that very day his thoughts perish.
⁵Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
      whose hope is in the LORD his God:

⁶Which made heaven, and earth,
      the sea, and all that therein is:
      which keepeth truth for ever:
⁷ Which executeth judgment for the oppressed:
      which giveth food to the hungry.
      The LORD looseth the prisoners:
⁸The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind:
      the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down:
      the LORD loveth the righteous:
⁹The LORD preserveth the strangers;
      he relieveth the fatherless and widow:
      but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

¹⁰The LORD shall reign for ever,
      even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.

Praise ye the Lord.

Nowadays we put hope in our morning cup of coffee - that it will wake us up and get us going in the morning. We put our hope in technology - that it will make our lives easier and more organized.  We put hope in - big titles and big promotions, that those things will help us worry less about money and feel more satisfied.  As addicts we put our hope in our addictions, that those things will help us to relax, or feel better, or forget our problems.  However, we all know those hopes are false.  They leave us only wanting and needing more.  This never-ending cycle of desire, gratification, desire, turns our lives upside down and leaves us wicked.

Truly happy people are those who are able to put their hope in our higher power - God.  His hope leaves us satisfied, feeling whole.  He gives us all that we need.  When we are at the end of our rope, when temptation has us in its traps, when there seems nothing left to live for - we can turn it all over to Him.  That is if we're ready to trust in Him.  We come to learn that our addictions are more powerful than us - and so only God can free of us these chains.  When we're ready, he does free us of those chains.  When we're ready he shines a light.  He sets us on the right path, and on the road to recovery.  So, put your hope in the Lord and recovery will follow.  This you can believe.

Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings.  Thank you for sobriety - after years of knowing nothing but intoxication.  Thank you for the chance to serve.  For it has been in serving that I have found my place.  Thank you for your lessons, which You teach everyday. The lessons teach me patience, humility, calm, honesty, and to be more like Your son, Jesus.  For I am only human, and left to my own devices, I will be selfish, greedy, proud, and deceiving.  Most of all I thank you for You hope.  I ask that you be with the addicts that still suffer.  Help them find hope in You.  Bring them a message that will help find the light that You shine.  The light that leads from the pit of addiction to path of recovery.  Be with them because the world of addiction is a confusing place.  One where, as You well know, life makes little sense.  Addicts need You to be the hope that brings sense and purpose to the world.  In your name I pray - AMEN.

Thanks for letting me share.