Psalm 65 (KJV): for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away

From Psalms

Psalm 65
(For the director of music.  A psalm of David.  A song.)

¹Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion:
      and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
²O thou that hearest prayer,
      unto thee shall all flesh come.
³Iniquities prevail against me:
      as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
⁴Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,
      and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
      even of thy holy temple.

⁵By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us,
      O God of our salvation;
who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
      and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
⁶Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains;
      being girded with power:
⁷Which stilleth the noise of the seas,
      the noise of their waves,
      and the tumult of the people.
⁸They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens:
      thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening
      to rejoice.

⁹Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it:
      thou greatly enrichest it
with the river of God, which is full of water:
      thou preparest them corn,
      when thou hast so provided for it.
¹⁰Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly:
      thou settlest the furrows thereof:
thou makest it soft with showers:
      thou blessest the springing thereof.
¹¹Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
      and thy paths drop fatness.
¹²They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness:
      and the little hills rejoice on every side.
¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks;
      the valleys also are covered over with corn;
      they shout for joy, they also sing.

In this time of Thanksgiving (here in the US) it is fitting that I use Psalm 65 to be thankful.  For God blesses me and my cup runneth over.  God has crowned my year with goodness.  God enriches the earth and the little hills rejoice on everyside.  Now this psalm was probably not proverbial when it was written, like it is for me.  However, God has forgiven my addictive tendencies and given me new life for that I am blessed with everything that is important.

The same God that works the miracles of mountains, the beauty and colors of fall, he too can work the miracle of removing addiction from our lives.  You need to be open to it.  You need to be willing to go to any length necessary.  If you are willing to surrender your life and turn it over to God so that he can use it to do his will then you will begin the healing process.  Once this process begins you will begin to experience the blessings and abundance that a life in Christ has.  A Christian life is not always the descriptions that Psalm 65 has, it does require work and some suffering.  However, everything in God's plan is for good - and at the end of the you will have just enough clouds to have a brilliant sunset.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 64 (KJV): Who whet their tongue like a sword...

From Psalms

Psalm 64
(For the director of music.  A psalm of David.)

¹Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer:
      preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
²Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked;
      from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

³Who whet their tongue like a sword,
      and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
⁴That they may shoot in secret at the perfect:
      suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

⁵They encourage themselves in an evil matter:
      they commune of laying snares privily;
      they say, Who shall see them?
⁶They search out iniquities;
      they accomplish a diligent search:
both the inward thought of every one of them,
      and the heart, is deep.

⁷But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
      suddenly shall they be wounded.
⁸So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves:
      all that see them shall flee away.

⁹And all men shall fear,
      and shall declare the work of God;
      for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
¹⁰The righteous shall be glad in the LORD,
      and shall trust in him;
      and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Psalm 64 has a little hidden message.  I guess as most psalms do, but somehow Psalm 64 seems a little different.  As I quote in today's title, it starts with a reference to people who attack with their words, or have a proverbial "sharp tongue."  We often think that there is only one victim of sharp or wicked tongue.  The truth is that there are two victims.  First, obviously is the intended victim.  However, the second is the person with the wicked tongue.

A person with a wicked tongue belongs to a wicked heart.  In fact, in Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."  So, those people around you who are nasty and caustic, need prayers of healing for their hearts.  Which prompts the question, have you listened to your tongue lately? What does it tell you about your heart? Pray on psalm 64 one more time and ask God to reveal what is hiding in your heart.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 63 (KJV): O God....my soul thirsteth for thee

From Psalms

Psalm 63
(Of David when he was in the Desert of Judah.)

¹O God, thou art my God;
      early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsteth for thee,
     my flesh longeth for thee
in a dry and thirsty land,
      where no water is;

²To see thy power and thy glory,
      so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
³Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
      my lips shall praise thee.
⁴Thus will I bless thee while I live:
      I will lift up my hands in thy name.

⁵My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
      and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

⁶When I remember thee upon my bed,
      and meditate on thee in the night watches.
⁷Because thou hast been my help,
      therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
⁸My soul followeth hard after thee:
      thy right hand upholdeth me.

⁹But those that seek my soul, to destroy it,
      shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
¹⁰They shall fall by the sword:
      they shall be a portion for foxes.

¹¹But the king shall rejoice in God;
      every one that sweareth by him shall glory:
      but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

A lot has happened in the last week.  In some respects God has answered prayers.  In other respects I see the ravages of addiction in other people's lives - and I pray for those people and the people they've hurt along the way.  In all respects it reminds me of my early days in recovery.  The state my life was in, how unmanageable it was, and how distant I was from God.

Tonight at a meeting we (re)visited step two, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."  Psalm 63 echoes a lot of the discussion from tonight.  As alcoholics at the end of our rope we are ready to go to any lengths necessary.  We long for God...in a dry and thirsty land.

Well, as the reading would remind us, at first isn't wasn't specifically God we thirsted for, necessarily.  We were thirsty for a new life.  One where we were not at the mercy of our addiction.  Hungry for the results of AA and its recovery in our life.  However, it was only through the journey of step 2 that we understood that "believing in a higher power" and faith in God are one in the same.  Faith that God can, and does, exist and is willing to heal our addiction.

By the end of step 2 we thirst for God.  To see His power and His glory.  To experience his lovingkindness.  To have our souls follow hard after thee.  To be ready have His right hand hold us up.  This thirst, to me, is a key step in recovery - whether you're new to recovery or been here a while.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 62 (KJV): Trust in Him at all times

From Psalms

Psalm 62
(For the director of music.  For Jeduthun.  A Psalm of David.)

¹Truly my soul waiteth upon God:
      from him cometh my salvation.
²He only is my rock and my salvation;
      he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

³How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?
      ye shall be slain all of you:
      as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
⁴They only consult to cast him down
      from his excellency:
      they delight in lies:
they bless with their mouth,
      but they curse inwardly.                           Selah.

⁵My soul, wait thou only upon God;
      for my expectation is from him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation:
      he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
⁷In God is my salvation and my glory:
      the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
⁸Trust in him at all times; ye people,
      pour out your heart before him:
      God is a refuge for us.                          Selah.

⁹Surely men of low degree are vanity,
      and men of high degree are a lie:
to be laid in the balance,
      they are altogether lighter than vanity.
¹⁰Trust not in oppression,
      and become not vain in robbery:
if riches increase,
      set not your heart upon them.

¹¹God hath spoken once;
      twice have I heard this;
that power belongeth unto God.
¹²Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy:
for thou renderest to every man
      according to his work.

There are 10 Psalms of trust, 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 63, 91, 121,125, and 131, which deal with putting our whole whole trust and faith in the Lord.  In these psalms, and especially psalm 62, we are clearly instructed that we should not to put our trust in: other people (verse 9), money (verse 10), or power (verse 11).  This is what step three in 12 steps is about. "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives our to the care of God as we understood Him."

I find my escape into addiction came from a need to find happiness, and trusting, in things outside of God.  However, when I put my trust in God, I am able to heal and recover.  When I do this, even when things go wrong I have much clearer perspective than I've ever had. I bravely endure those problems knowing I am not able to control every situation - or have every situation turn out in my favor.  Or what I think is best for me.  However, what I do know is that everything happens, according to God's plan, for the best.  If I don't get a job or promotion I was hoping for. When it rains.  If my sons baseball team loses.  There is a purpose for all of these things.  Of this I am confident, our blessings come through raindrops and our healing comes from tears.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 61 (KJV): My heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock

From Psalms

Psalm 61
(For the director of music upon Neginah (with stringed instruments). Of David)

¹Hear my cry, O God;
      attend unto my prayer.

²From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,
      when my heart is overwhelmed:
      lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³For thou hast been a shelter for me,
      and a strong tower from the enemy.

⁴I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever:
      I will trust in the covert of thy wings.          Selah.
⁵For thou, O God, hast heard my vows:
      thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

⁶Thou wilt prolong the king's life:
      and his years as many generations.
⁷He shall abide before God for ever:
      O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

⁸So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever,
      that I may daily perform my vows.

Although I have been sober for more than a year, and I am genuinely a changed person through the 12 steps and God, I still find myself resting on my old crutches from time to time.  One thing I noticed this week, in an unusually high stress situation, I found myself lying.  This is something I almost rarely do anymore, or rarely need to do anymore, since I am able to be very open and honest in all I do with my recovery.  As I lied I started digging myself into a hole.  Eventually, I realized that I didn't need to be telling people and should be telling the truth.  So, I admitted my lie and clarified the situation.

Psalm 61, seems to be fitting to this theme.  Psalm 61 was probably written around the time David had won victory in battle at the expense of the death of his favorite son, Absalom.  During this time of mixed emotions, David probably believed his own misbehavior had contributed to the wickedness and death of Absalom.

My heart is overwhelmed and I need to be lead to the rock that is higher than me.  For you,  God, have heard my vows.  Prepare mercy and truth, which shall preserve me.  I will sing praise and give daily vows forever.  In troublesome times, abide in the spirit of the Lord, who is a refuge.

Thanks for letting me share.