Psalm 33 (KJV): a mighty man is not delivered by much strength

From Psalms

Psalm 33

¹Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous:
      for praise is comely for the upright.
²Praise the LORD with harp:
      sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
³Sing unto him a new song;
      play skilfully with a loud noise.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right;
      and all his works are done in truth.
⁵He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

⁶By the word of the LORD were the heavens made;
      and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
⁷He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap:
      he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD:
      let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹For he spake, and it was done;
      he commanded, and it stood fast.
¹⁰The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought:
      he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
¹¹The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever,
      the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD;
      and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
¹³The LORD looketh from heaven;
      he beholdeth all the sons of men.
¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looketh upon
      all the inhabitants of the earth.
¹⁵He fashioneth their hearts alike;
      he considereth all their works.
¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an host:
      a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
¹⁷A horse is a vain thing for safety:
      neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him,
      upon them that hope in his mercy;
¹⁹To deliver their soul from death,
      and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waiteth for the LORD:
      he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart shall rejoice in him,
      because we have trusted in his holy name.
²²Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
      according as we hope in thee.

In this world there are some things that no human power can accomplish - as verse 16 implies.  One of those things is overcoming and recovering from addiction.  From (Page 60, Chapter 5, "How it works"of ) the AA big/blue book:

"Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventure before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if he were sought.

It's important to note that the "recovering" from addiction is because addiction is a symptom of greater wounds that we have hidden and often open on our soul.  The process of recovery is more the fact that sobriety by itself healing.  The 12 steps go to the wounds that are driving our addiction.  We eliminate addiction by healing those wounds, not simply be removing the substances from our lives.  We heal those wounds with deep relationship with God.

I don't care how smart you are.  How good looking you might be.  How rich you are.  How strong you are.  How many friends you have.  Or how big your army is.  These wounds, which drive our addictions, will not healed without a relationship with God.  Only in God can this life long struggle be won.

For the relationship with God, which I continue to build in the 12 steps, I rejoice and praise the name of the Lord.

Thanks for letting me share.