Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.(NIV)
I was talking to someone the other day about my struggle with alcohol when I was a teenager. I grew up in the West of Scotland where the culture imposes a lot of pressure on young people to get as drunk as often as they can, just to prove that they are normal and can handle liquor. I started drinking when I was thirteen and five years later, I became addicted. I honestly cannot remember going more than a day without drinking beer, vodka, or whisky from when I was eighteen to twenty.
Typically, there was a great shadow or sadness over my soul and the only way that I could find to get rid of the darkness was to brighten up my spirits with intoxicating spirits. But alcohol is a depressant and when my ‘spiritual’ high was over, I was worse off than before.
People who loved me hinted that I had a problem, but no one really confronted me or intervened. It’s not that they didn’t care – I’m sure that my parents and some of my friends wanted me to stop – it’s just that I was so strong-willed and stubborn, they didn’t know what to do or say. My addiction made me powerless to give it up; and it paralyzed my loved ones who wanted to help.
It took intervention to rescue me – divine intervention. God got a hold of my attention and when I pleaded for help, He heard my prayer. I had to hit rock bottom before I could start on the road to recovery. I had to fall on my knees and ask for help before any turning point could begin in my life.
Since those dark days, I’ve known others to be in the same predicament, who have wrestled with the dark demons of addiction. Some of them have lost that battle and died prematurely, but I’m glad to say that there are others who have found God and conquered their dependency on alcohol. They have also experienced that precious moment of divine rescue in their lives when God has saved them from themselves.
Perhaps some of you who are reading or hearing this are struggling with an addiction. Maybe you have a loved one who is wrestling with nicotine, alcohol, drugs or pornography. Ask God to intervene; pray for divine rescue; plead for deliverance from the darkness. He has the power – all you need is the prayer for perseverance.
Prayer: Lord God, when we do damage to ourselves through solvent abuse and chemical dependency, rescue us. When we try to overcome addiction and obsession from things that harm our bodies, minds, and souls, deliver us. And when we or our loved ones have taken the wrong path, made foolish choices, or have slid back into fallen ways, restore us, O God, to Your light, Your life, and Your love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA