Life can be rough at times and we can easily get bound by something that imprisons us. No, I’m not talking about a four by six concrete room with bars across the front. I’m talking about the prisons we can find ourselves in as we make our way through life on this spinning orb we call home. We live in a free country, but how free are we really? It’s not the government holding us captive, though this could be true to some extent. What holds us captive are the worldly things that arrest our hearts and souls. The things that lock up our thoughts. Things like alcohol, drugs, pornography, relationships, sex, shopping, food, cellphones, and money. Go ahead, feel free to add to this list. None of these things are unhealthy if done appropriately. However, we can easily become so attached to and comforted by them to the point of being chained to them. However, hope and freedom can come to us.

There are things in the universe we can’t explain. No matter how hard we try we can’t wrap our minds around it. Some things we’ll never know about this side of heaven. Addiction is described as baffling. It can be hard to wrap our minds around it. Many people who have never struggled with addiction may think the addict can just stop if they want to. However, it’s not that simple. My wife and I watch On Patrol Live and on a recent show a man was arrested after entering a garage without permission. This man was on the show a week earlier. He was found in an alley unresponsive from an overdose. He nearly died from the overdose, yet here he was one week later high and going to jail. Addiction is baffling.

As humans we can feel inadequate at times. Opportunities appear to us and we think we can’t step up to meet the moment. We assess the moment and determine, based on our assets and abilities, that it’s more than we can do. Because of this we don’t engage the opportunity. But what if the opportunity is from God? What if God has chosen us for that moment to do something He has planned for our lives? As we read through the Bible we will discover that God asked people to do things they felt they couldn’t accomplish. They felt there was no way they could do what God was asking them to do. The story of Gideon was one of them. Gideon reflects how many of us feel.

In nearly all cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater than themselves, if they are to re-create their lives. Dr. Opinion - Pg 17 (XXVI)