I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 When I first attempted recovery, I didn’t need relapse prevention because I knew I’d never be stupid enough to return to addiction. I discovered that occasional failure is disaster for the addict and that I did indeed need relapse…
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They shall eat, but not be satisfied . . . Hosea 4:10 Withdrawal is misery. Once the high of the pill wears off, the sweating, aching, and agitation descend like the plague, lasting for days. The pain should be enough to convince the addict never to use again, but the despair of withdrawal perversely convinces the…
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I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, “You are my people”; and he shall say, “You are my God.” Hosea 2:23 Before I was married, I developed some destructive habits with chemicals that I thought would automatically disappear in marriage. They were relatively minor issues – I thought…
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I will betroth you to me forever . . . I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. Hosea 2:19-20 Long before I was engaged to my wonderful wife, I went through one of those spells where I felt like I would never find anyone. I knew I wanted to…
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Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods . . . Hosea 3:1 Most of us are egocentric enough to think that we are the good guys in our own story. Generally, we feel…
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The Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom . . . Hosea 1:2 It is not uncommon, working with addicts, to meet those who are too smart for their own good. While the addict must have some knowledge of recovery before he finds it, the addict…
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The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me . . . Daniel 10:13 Today’s is an unusual passage about the conflict that exists in the spiritual realm. In the story, Daniel prayed but the angel sent to answer him was delayed 21…
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The king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions. Daniel 6:24 The thing that attracted me to stories like Daniel and the lion’s den when I was a child, is the same thing that frustrates me as an adult. Within just one chapter, a conflict arises…
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When Daniel knew that the document had been signed . . . He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Daniel 6:10 As I was in the middle of a long workout yesterday, I distracted my mind from the drudgery by…
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You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Daniel 5:27 One of the greatest lies the addict, in his madness, tells himself, is that he can do it alone. I don’t need help. I can quit by myself. In the insanity of his addiction, he refuses help and refuses to follow God. He…
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