Psalm 77 (KJV): I cried unto God...He gave ear unto me

From Psalms

Psalm 77
(For the director of music.  For Jeduthun.  Of Asaph.  A psalm.)

¹I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice;
      and he gave ear unto me.
²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord:
      my sore ran in the night, and ceased not:
      my soul refused to be comforted.

³I remembered God, and was troubled:
      I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.
                                                         Selah.
⁴Thou holdest mine eyes waking:
      I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I have considered the days of old,
      the years of ancient times.
⁶I call to remembrance my song in the night:
      I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

⁷Will the Lord cast off for ever?
      and will he be favourable no more?
⁸Is his mercy clean gone for ever?
      doth his promise fail for evermore?

⁹Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
      hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?
                                                    Selah.

¹⁰And I said, This is my infirmity:
      but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
¹¹I will remember the works of the LORD:
      surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate also of all thy work,
      and talk of thy doings.

¹³Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
      who is so great a God as our God?
¹⁴Thou art the God that doest wonders:
      thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
¹⁵Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people,
      the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
                                            Selah.

¹⁶The waters saw thee, O God,
      the waters saw thee;
      they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water:
      the skies sent out a sound:
      thine arrows also went abroad.
¹⁸The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven:
      the lightnings lightened the world:
      the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Thy way is in the sea,
      and thy path in the great waters,
      and thy footsteps are not known.

²⁰Thou leddest thy people like a flock
      by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The opening verse from this psalm remind me of  "He Knows My Name":
"He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call."

He gave ear unto me...but my soul refused to be comforted.  This is my infirmity, but I will remember the right hand of the most high.  Some days, it seems as though my soul refuses the comfort of God.  On those days remembering how he has answered my cry helps.  On those days, I remember the He knows my every thought and hears me when I call.

Despite how bad things may be for me (and my addiction) at that time, I remember, and see, what great gifts he has given me.  I know there are people much less fortunate than I.  They live in countries where they cannot freely worship God.  Their very lives are threatened for reading a Bible or praying for salvation and protection.  Today I pray for those people who suffer and need the help of God but are not permitted to seek His hand in their life.  Lord please be with them and guide them.  Protect them from their enemies.  Help them be the light of Jesus for those around them.  Especially be a light for the people who ban your word, and outlaw worshiping You, and help them see the light of Your word and the error of their ways.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 76 (KJV): Thou art more glorious and excellent

From Psalms

Psalm 76
(For the director of music.  With stringed instruments.  A psalm of Asaph.  A song.)

¹In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.
²In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
³There brake he the arrows of the bow,
      the shield, and the sword, and the battle.
                                                           Selah.

⁴Thou art more glorious
      and excellent than the mountains of prey.
⁵The stouthearted are spoiled,
      they have slept their sleep:
and none of the men of might
      have found their hands.
⁶At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
      both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
⁷Thou, even thou, art to be feared:
      and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
⁸Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven;
      the earth feared, and was still,
⁹When God arose to judgment,
      to save all the meek of the earth.
                                                    Selah.

¹⁰Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
      the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.

¹¹Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God:
      let all that be round about him
      bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
¹²He shall cut off the spirit of princes:
      he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

No matter how fierce the enemy is, God (from verse 4) is "...more glorious and excellent..."  This greatness will deliver us from all of man's wickedness.

I know this to be true.  I've seen it over the last year.  Recently, however, there have been situations where my faith in this belief fails me.  Times when I need something more...and I seem to struggle more with the urges of my addiction.  It feels like I'm missing some kind of perspective.  It almost feels like I'm just going through the motions.

I believe that my prayers need to be accompanied by step-work to be more meaningful.  I have been putting off my step-work until I finish going through Psalms here.  However, I realize they need to be done together.  And I need to be doing it actively with my sponsor...and since I lost my sponsor several months ago I'm going to need to get used to the fact that I probably need to start over with steps.

So, expect to see more in these pages, in the coming days, as I step up my step-work.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 75 (KJV): Unto thee, O God, we give thanks

From Psalms

Psalm 75
(For the director of music.  To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A psalm of Asaph.  A song.)

¹Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks,
      unto thee do we give thanks:
      for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

²When I shall receive the congregation
      I will judge uprightly.
³The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
      I bear up the pillars of it.                    Selah.
⁴I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly:
      and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
⁵Lift not up your horn on high:
      speak not with a stiff neck.

⁶For promotion cometh neither from the east,
      nor from the west, nor from the south.
⁷But God is the judge:
      he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
⁸For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup,
      and the wine is red; it is full of mixture;
and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof,
      all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

⁹But I will declare for ever;
      I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off;
      but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Psalm 74, although I didn't address the topic directly, asked where is God when there is great destruction and crisis in our lives.  Psalms 75 and 76 start to answer this question...you will be happy to know he is always close at hand and in control of our paths.

Sometimes, as we tended to see in Psalm 74, we have short memories when it comes to the great work of God in our lives.  We often lack the full picture and perspective of what God is doing today.  Sometimes it's this lack of perspective that makes it difficult to trust in God...and to have complete faith in his plan for our lives.

In a meeting today I was reminded where I was more than a year ago, and how out of control it was.  I realized what a great gift He has given me in my sobriety and how victorious I have been on so many levels.  I know I still have a long way to go and many things still to do.  However, being able to look back, helped give me some of that perspective.  So, unto thee, O God, I give thanks for your great works and your grace - Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 74 (KJV): Do not deliver the dove unto the wild beasts

From Psalms

Psalm 74
(A maskil of Asaph.)

¹O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?
      why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
²Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old;
      the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed;
      this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
³Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations;
      even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

⁴Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations;
      they set up their ensigns for signs.
⁵A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes
      upon the thick trees.
⁶But now they break down the carved work
      thereof at once with axes and hammers.
⁷They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,
      they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
⁸They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together:
      they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
⁹We see not our signs:
      there is no more any prophet:
      neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

¹⁰O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?
      shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
¹¹Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand?
      pluck it out of thy bosom.

¹²For God is my King of old,
      working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength:
      thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
¹⁴Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces,
      and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

¹⁵Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood:
      thou driedst up mighty rivers.
¹⁶The day is thine, the night also is thine:
      thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
¹⁷Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:
      thou hast made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD,
      and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
¹⁹O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked:
      forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

²⁰Have respect unto the covenant:
      for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
²¹O let not the oppressed return ashamed:
      let the poor and needy praise thy name.

²²Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:
      remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
²³Forget not the voice of thine enemies:
      the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

There are still days when the lure of pornography is still very strong for me.  I realize that it's easy to talk about my alcoholism because that for me is easier to manage than my sex addiction.  It's not always easy - but easier.  I need to start being more honest though - there are more days when I think porn would make things better than there are days when I think about drinking.  As I pray psalm 74, today, pornography and strip clubs are my beasts and my enemy.

God, today, please remember the needy and opressed, and do not let us retreat into our addiction.  Be with us and give us each other, that we may be stronger over the enemies and the beasts that we struggle with.  Help us remember the people in our lives that we love.  Help us to be open and honest with them and to show them and tell them how much they mean to us.  When opportunities present themselves help us be selfless and generous to help those around us.  Let us be a reflection of your son Jesus, let us be the channel of your peace.  Where there is wrong let us bring foregiveness...and where there is despair that we bring hope.  Lord, grant that we may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.

Psalm 73 (KJV): I was envious when I saw the properity of the wicked

From Psalms

Psalm 73
(A psalm of Asaph.)

¹Truly God is good to Israel,
      even to such as are of a clean heart.

²But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
      my steps had well nigh slipped.

³For I was envious at the foolish,
      when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no bands in their death:
      but their strength is firm.
⁵They are not in trouble as other men;
      neither are they plagued like other men.
⁶Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain;
      violence covereth them as a garment.
⁷Their eyes stand out with fatness:
      they have more than heart could wish.
⁸They are corrupt, and speak wickedly
      concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
⁹They set their mouth against the heavens,
      and their tongue walketh through the earth.
¹⁰Therefore his people return hither:
      and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
¹¹And they say, How doth God know?
      and is there knowledge in the most High?

¹²Behold, these are the ungodly,
      who prosper in the world;
      they increase in riches.

¹³Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain,
      and washed my hands in innocency.
¹⁴For all the day long have I been plagued,
      and chastened every morning.

¹⁵If I say, I will speak thus; behold,
      I should offend against the generation of thy children.
¹⁶When I thought to know this,
      it was too painful for me;
¹⁷Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
      then understood I their end.

¹⁸Surely thou didst set them in slippery places:
      thou castedst them down into destruction.
¹⁹How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!
      they are utterly consumed with terrors.
²⁰As a dream when one awaketh;
      so, O Lord, when thou awakest,
      thou shalt despise their image.

²¹Thus my heart was grieved,
      and I was pricked in my reins.
²²So foolish was I, and ignorant:
      I was as a beast before thee.

²³Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
      thou hast holden me by my right hand.
²⁴Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,
      and afterward receive me to glory.
²⁵Whom have I in heaven but thee?
      and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

²⁶My flesh and my heart faileth:
      but God is the strength of my heart,
      and my portion for ever.

²⁷For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
      thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
²⁸But it is good for me to draw near to God:
      I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
      that I may declare all thy works.

Welcome to book III of my journey through psalms - I'm so glad I could get this far and even more glad that you could join me here.

Psalm 73 is one of those tough and honest psalms.  It's very easy to praise God and speak of his gifts, like I get to do on other days with other psalms.  That's easy.  However, as psalm 73 reminds us, in a very honest way, we Christians have to have a certain level of sacrifice.  It requires, for example, that we think of others before ourselves.  All the while we try to reflect the love of God, there are those around us who seem to prosper inordinately.  So, we feel like if God were so good why wouldn't we prosper like them?  We start to sin in that we start to covet.  It may not even always be about money.  It may be about a career, title, or an experience.  It may even be about length of sobriety.  Because in our society we are lead to believe that prosperity is the same as happiness.  Unfortunately, we are bombarded with this message.

We start to think, "I'd be happier if I had a bigger house," or "I'd be happier if my kids could go to a better school,"  or "I'd be happier if I didn't have to work as long."    I have even often thought I could be a faster bike rider if I had a newer bike - or a better golfer if I had newer golf clubs.  Well, we all know it's not true.  We've all bought things that were supposed to make our lives easier, or better, and were disappointed when it didn't make our lives easier.  Hopefully, we learned our lessons and stopped looking in the wrong places for this secret to success and happiness.  Some people simply think, "Well, maybe what I was looking for is still out there," and their journey through disappointment never ends.

Because Happiness, doesn't come from trying to be like someone else, or from having the latest best thing.  Happiness, comes from fulfillment and satisfaction.  Fulfillment, in turn, comes from knowing our lives make a difference.

We have a program at work where we give a $25 gift certificate to people who go above and beyond what is expected of them.  They step in while somebody is out, the work on the weekend, and things like that.  I see that people are grateful to receive the $25 gift certificate.  However, I know that the $25 doesn't make a huge impact in their lives.  I know they are more grateful that their efforts and commitment are recognized - that we show that this person is important and is valuable.

The easiest way to have our lives make a difference is to mirror the way Jesus lead his life.  Showing our love and helping the people of the world.  This is the only true path to happiness.  Unfortunately, those people who don't understand this will find themselves in torturing spiral.  They will chase more money and "things", continue to be disappointed...chase money and things even harder than before, become even more disappointed...and so on.  In this spiral, as we read in psalm 73, "they will be utterly consumed by terrors."  So, it is good for us to draw near to God and we are grateful for the gifts and opportunities he gives us and that he keeps us from a lifestyle of false happiness and prosperity.

Thanks for letting me share.