Addiction

I began writing this blog on the morning of May 11th. I was gripped by the scripture below in my prayer time. I could not shake the need to pray for those that were gripped by darkness and bondage. As I prayed my focus was on those enslaved by addiction and the bondage of drugs, alcohol, and other addictions. That prayer time left me with a prompting to write about what I was praying and experiences that I had helping those bound to discover freedom in Christ. I will never forget that Tuesday morning on May 11th, because it was that morning after beginning to write first draft of this blog that I received a call letting me know that my brother in Christ, Ben Everett, had passed away in his sleep. See Ben had experienced the bondage of addiction, but he also knew the freedom from it that Christ bought for him. This blog has had many drafts since, some reflecting the roller coaster that the last two weeks have been. As I sit here writing this scripture burns in my heart even more, I know that it also burned in Ben's heart because he lived to help others experience the freedom he had found.

Here are some thoughts from this scripture:

He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Psalms 107:14

Darkness is rampant - There are people everywhere we turn that are trapped in darkness. There may people that are around you right now that are trapped in the bondage of addiction. They are stuck in a struggle where they feel that there is no way out. These are people that we may work with or it may be a person we pass by at a store. It can be people that look like they are getting their act together.

Jesus set them free - This scripture speaks to what God had done for the people of Israel in bringing them out of Egypt, but it also speaks of what Jesus did for us at the cross. When Jesus died, shed his blood, and rose again He broke the power that hell had to keep people bound in chains. Jesus assured their freedom, just like he assured our salvation. Ben got baptized about a month before he passed. I watched as he celebrated his freedom with his family and those who were walking out their freedom with him.

We must pray - Prayer is key, we must prepare the way in prayer. Lives can't be changed without a praying church churning the soil that lives can be changed. That they would be open to receive the light of God and the freedom from bondage that Jesus brings. We can't afford to ignore the state of our community, we must get on our knees and pray. Our action starts with prayer, that our eyes would be opened to those hurting around us, and that we would have discernment to act.

We must be light - See people in darkness need us to stand and speak truth in the midst of the situation that they are going through. The enemy wants to bombard and confuse their thoughts and keep them bound. We have the opportunity to stand strong with them and point them in the direction to Christ and the freedom that he gives. We must surround them with the love of God. We can't afford to leave our relationships at a surface level and think everything is ok. People around us are hurting and in darkness and we have the light of the world living inside of us. I think about what Paul says to the Galatian church about bearing one another's burdens. We who are free must reach out and stabilize those who are seeking that freedom. We who are strong must help the weak. I watched as Ben lived this, he would reach out and bring people along in his journey in Christ.

Who around us to do we need to invest in, who around you needs a word of hope or encouragement. Who needs a little time to cry on their shoulder? Who just needs an ear to listen to them, yet they are too discouraged to even reach out? We don't have time to play games, we are not promised tomorrow.