Psalm 64 Preserve my Life from the Dread Enemy

Observation: There is kind of an established genre of Psalms that cry for God's help from an earthly enemy. It seems from the language that this enemy is an insidious one, plotting in secret, laying snares and ambushing innocent people.

Application: Reflecting on my week so far, this psalm doesn't connect with for me any particular human enemy, but more the enemy within: addiction. Addictions are just like any living creature. They will do anything they can to survive. But unlike most living creatures, they have our own minds--our imaginations, our sense of reason, our capacity for deception--at their full disposal. Addictions do not distinguish rich from poor, right from wrong. They only want to survive, and for that, they need our substance or behavior of choice. They are a formidable enemy.

At the beginning of this week, I attended a training with Hope Not Handcuffs, to become a volunteer "Angel" on call to help individuals who have resolved to get clean from opioid addiction. Pictured above is my Naloxone kit, which every volunteer received. In the event of an opiate overdose, these kits can instantly reverse the effects of an opioid for 30 to 90 minutes while EMTs are on their way. Despite a lot of misinformation floating around, this is a one-time drug, it costs about $150 per dose, and it doesn't get anyone high or enable their habit. On the contrary, its sole purpose is to save the lives of people who would otherwise die of an overdose.

Another fact I learned is that on average, a person addicted to opioids tries to get clean at least seven times before successfully doing so. Facing that strong of an enemy, I'm glad to be enlisted as an ally. If you have any interest in this program, I'd encourage you to check out their website and see if you can be of help in your area.

As the psalmist says, "the human heart and mind are deep." We are too smart for our own good sometimes, and we have so much capacity to be our own worst enemy, to deceive and do harm to ourselves. But we are better together than alone, and we are best when we enlist God's help. We all have demons of some form. I'll gladly have your back as you fight yours, and I always appreciate prayers as I fight mine.

Prayer: God, be our help and our warrior as we struggle with strong enemies. Be our strength when we feel weak. Draw us together when we feel alone. Amen.