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And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech . . . Judges 9:23 The chaos of my addiction made for a miserable life. Yes, the high of the drug provided immediate gratification, but the high wore off and then the misery…
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Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity . . . with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. Judges 9:16-19 Prior to my knee replacement, multiple injuries and multiple surgeries meant chronic pain. When I had my first steroid injection, the…
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And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. Judges 9:5 In my addiction, one of the lies I told myself was that my drug use couldn’t hurt anyone as long as I kept it a secret. I really thought that I…
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It became a snare to Gideon and to his family. Judges 8:27 In some recovery meetings I’ve been to, they take time halfway through the meeting to smoke. I’ve also worked at an impatient treatment facility where they have a designated smoking area and take smoke breaks. This has always struck me as bizarre. There…
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And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. Judges 8:27 Imagine that I got sober, wrote a book about it, and then that book became tremendously successful (like I said,…
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Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. Judges 7:20 When it comes to treatment, the addicted patients with whom I work usually fall into two groups – those who want to go to treatment…
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And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” Judges 7:14 This may sound absurd to you, but there was a time when I expected that my belief in God should shield…
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But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. Judges 7:10-11 When my son was a newborn, we found great joy in rocking him to sleep every…
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The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” Judges 7:2 I’ve often said that I’m not responsible for having the disease of addiction, but I alone am responsible to seek…
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Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. Judges 6:32 When my addiction came to light and as word began to spread, I wanted to run and hide. I strongly considered moving eight states away as the thought of a…
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