As we look through the ages, we see that there has never been a time
without war. Unfortunately, this also includes our day and age… Our
Heavenly Father is just the opposite of war, however. He is love, and
His history is filled with salvation.
The Israelites were slaves
of Pharaoh. They were required to work continually without respite,
without hope, without even a sympathetic ear. God heard them, however,
and He came through: "I am GOD. I will bring you out from under the
cruel hard labor of Egypt. I will rescue you from slavery. I will redeem
you, intervening with great acts of judgment." Exodus 6:6 (MSG). The
Israelite were then supernaturally freed. God protected them day and
night despite the fact that many were rebellious. That, my friends, is
salvation.
The same happens with all of us. Somehow we erred, and
we find ourselves slaves to self-imposed addictions such as drugs,
medicine, habits, foul character, etc. Most of us have struggled on our
own to become free of these impositions; but the more we wanted to be
free, the worse the addictions control us. Where can we go for help?
There is no hope!
I, too, went through some of these addictions.
I had sleep apnea, and I had to wear a C-PAP every night. In addition, I
had to take a sleeping medication, one that I didn't realize was slowly
controlling my life. When I tried to cut back on my medication, I found
myself filled with medication-induced anxiety. I had no hope, for the
doctor told me that I had to continue both the CPAP and with the
medicine. "There are no other solutions," he stated.
I knew
differently. Not because I was a trained specialist, but because I knew
my Heavenly Father, and I preferred to trust fully in Him. My Father was
quite patient. He showed me how to conquer the dilemma, and it has now
been several years since I used my C-Pap and the medication. I now sleep
normally with no consequences, and there is no more anxiety. It's true
that on very rare occasions I have mild apnea, but I know this is
nothing but a reminder that the evil one wants me to live in bondage.
99% of my nights are now apnea-free. Praise God, I am free!
I
also suffered from acid reflux for years, and I took medication daily
for this. By relying on my Father for reflux control rather than on the
medication, I eventually was able to come off the medication. It has now
been years since I had my last reflux episode.
I have battled
other addictions in my life as well, but these, too, have been thrown
out the window. Our Heavenly Father truly brings Salvation and
deliverance from all our addictions, and the promise God gave me became
reality: "Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the
truth will free you." John 8:32 (MSG) This will happen to you too. Trust
Him and you will never have regrets. You, too, can be free as well!
"As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you
didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right
anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you
get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead
end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you
what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling
you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with
more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and
your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life,
delivered by Jesus, our Master." Romans 6:20-23 (MSG)
And now the great surprise: "But now that we're no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we're free to live a new life in the freedom of God." Romans 7:6 (MSG) The power of the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross will lead us all to victory, guaranteed! After all, salvation is the norm for God: "A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all." Romans 8:2-3 (MSG)
Rob Chaffart
