Month: October 2018

You sent me to the Lord your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.” Jeremiah 42:20 When my life began to unravel in my addiction, I promised God that I would do anything if he would deliver me…
Read more

Pray to the Lord your God . . . that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do. Jeremiah 42:2-3 A couple years ago, my old truck developed a metal on metal grinding noise. I’m no mechanic, but as the sound grew worse, I knew…
Read more

As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire . . . Jeremiah 36:23 Because I believe that God will always forgive me, I have often done wrong today with the intention of simply asking forgiveness tomorrow. I’ve known the truth, but…
Read more

You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes . . . but then you turned around and profaned my name . . . Jeremiah 34:15,16 Though I find the Israelites recurrent pattern of sin-discipline-repentance to be frustrating, I must admit that this is the story of my life. I overeat, feel guilty, promise never…
Read more

They have turned to me their back and not their face. Jeremiah 32:33 In my addiction, I turned my back on God. As the pursuit of the pill consumed me, I abandoned everything important in life, including my faith. I didn’t have time or energy for God, but in my shame, I also just couldn’t stand…
Read more

I will be their God, and they shall be my people . . . For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33-34* Yesterday, as I was preparing a talk on addiction, it occurred to me how little I understood about the subject 10 years ago. Medical school…
Read more

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 As I gradually gave up more and more of who I was to my addiction, I became more and more willing to do anything to get the pill. I lied. I stole. I cheated. There became little I wouldn’t…
Read more

I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 It is not uncommon for the one experiencing painful consequences to cry out to God for deliverance. The one caught up in his disaster often turns to the…
Read more

So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:3-4 There is a well-known phrase that addicts use…
Read more

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 Yesterday, at jail Bible study, I floated this idea to the guys. Just follow your heart. They all laughed, but it was not a funny-laugh. It was a that is stupid-laugh. They know what Jeremiah knew when he wrote today’s passage:…
Read more