Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Castanets, Anyone?
As we bump along in life, we often misunderstand things,
especially concerning our recovery. I recently caught a cartoon which captures
that reality.
In it, we see Jesus and His disciples on a fishing boat. One
disciple is in a festive mood, complete with some castanet shaking. This
prompts another disciple’s response...
“You
idiot. He said cast the nets.”
Does this spotlight, once again, our human cluelessness?
Perhaps, rather, it taps into the purposeful recovery-from-addiction
meaning in our lives, should we choose to embrace it.
Let’s take a gander at the fishy verses...
“And
He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a
little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from
the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,
"Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing,
but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’”
Luke
5:3-5
Now, it’s good to be focused; it’s good to be recovery-minded.
But sometimes we can get downright myopic about it. The emphasis is on
survival, on not dying in some way. It’s all about self.
So, if our selfy selfish selves are running amok, it’s all
the more challenging to look to past these self-interests, to consider anyone
else’s issues.
And this pesky human nature often drives our whine to God’s
request as we navigate our process...
“...‘Master,
we worked hard all night and caught nothing...’”
Luke 5:5
I mean, come on, be honest, how many of us utter that last
bit of Luke 5:5, one which goes beyond the whine?
“...‘but
I will do as You say and let down the nets.’”
(Crickets chirping)
Yeah, I thought so. I’m guilty of it too.
But it doesn’t change the greater work, one residing beyond
self to others. It’s wrapped up in some questions, should we choose to answer
them.
What if God is wanting us to see beyond our personal recovery to help someone else?
What if, on this spiritual fishing boat, Jesus is directing
us to pursue the deep haul of reconciliation?
Before we nay say, right off the bat, let’s first look at the
result of following His instructions...
“He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of
the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the
net in because of the large number of fish.”
John
21:6
This boat trip is often mentioned within the context of
salvation. And yes, that is there. Yeah, we’re fishing for souls.
But what if these scriptures also challenge us to go still
further, beyond “saving someone?”
What if we are challenged to continue the ongoing, “other-minded”
work of helping someone else, via our own stories of life, struggle and
victory?
“For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.”
John
3:17
After all, isn’t that what support groups and sponsors are
all about?
The word “reconciliation” is defined as:
“the restoration of friendly relations; reunion;
reuniting; bringing together (again)”
And we see God is heavily into this principle.
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
2
Corinthians 5:18-9
So, you would think we’d be equally enthusiastic about it as
well.
Eh...
Instead, like the castanets, we often only seem to be noisy-
and miss the point entirely.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor, and
though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.”
1 Corinthians
13:1-3
Why so noisy?
It has to do with our disconnection to a critical element in
this reconciliation equation: love.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved
you.”
John 15:12
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek
its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love
never fails; but if there are gifts of
prophecy, they will be done away; if there
are tongues, they will cease; if there
is knowledge, it will be done away.”
1
Corinthians 13:4-8
Yes, hippy dippy, warm fuzzy love.
But, in the recovery process, we often get caught up in the
doing of things: attending meetings, gathering chips, staying on track. But do
we love?
Actual applied, relevant, inconvenient, soul-stretching love
which...
...honestly shares our ugly war stories with another, with
no thought of how embarrassing it makes us look...
...mentors someone who’s in dire straits, perhaps, even
someone who we would not consider as a friend...
...forgives our personal Judas, someone who has lied to,
hurt and cheated us...
Is any of our recovery process covering that territory?
This is not to condemn anyone.
Rather, it’s the constant, encouraging challenge to go
deeper in God and into our recovery, so much so, we discover the profound
meaning to our brokenness: spiritual mending, a/k/a, reconciliation.
We have the invitation to be “about our Father’s business” (Luke
2:49).
When we hear this invitation, how, in fact, do we respond?
The castanets of noise? Or the “cast the nets” of God’s
love?
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
Bifurcation: Addiction’s Jeckle and Hyde
“A double minded man
is unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:8
The word bifurcation means “the division of something
into two branches or parts.” It may not be a widely known and used word within
our vocabulary. Yet its prevalence abounds.
Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde are two figures which describe a person who is radically, even morally
different, depending upon the circumstance.
Indeed, Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella appears to capture the chaotic struggle, as an
individual wars in the battle between good and evil.
It’s an excellent portrait of
addiction.
For, according to the literary
classic, Dr. Jekyll, endeavoring to win that battle, creates a
potion. Doing this spurs the persona of Mr. Hyde, who increasingly gains more power.
And, we see how the regular consumption of this potion becomes
destructive. Eventually, the personality of Hyde becomes so strong, the person
of Jekyll grows dependent upon the potion to simply function.
Again, this Jekyll and Hyde schism mirrors addiction. How many times have
we heard, witnessed or behaved in a manner which is diametrically opposite of
our “normal” selves? We encounter examples of “the angry drunk” or “the happy
drunk.” We see the introvert who, because of various substances, becomes the
life of the party.
Personality
is altered. And, frequently, that alteration has adverse results.
Concerning
our addiction experiences, it would, therefore, be beneficial to examine the Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde within each of us.
Willingness
“…‘Do you want to
get well?’"
John 5:6
First, we
have to face our attitude about willingness. There is no neutrality here. We
veer toward yes or no: to face our truth and to admit we need help.
Dr. Jekyll in
us may, indeed, be cooperative. But, let’s be real, even if that is the case,
at best, we are often clueless, even if we are agreeable.
“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to
do, that I do not practice: but what I hate, that I do.”
Romans 7:15
That’s where
the recovery programs come in, touting “trust the process” and “surrender.”
“For now we see through a glass, darkly...”
1 Corinthians 13:12
We need to
admit we are not capable of objectivity and of successfully running our own
lives when it comes to our addictions, disorders and vices. Clearly, we cannot.
If we could
effectively do that, we wouldn’t be where we are in our assorted messes.
We may be well
intentioned, like Dr. Jekyll, not wanting to cause harm, believing we have
things under control. Yet, we are unsupervised with our personal solution
potions; and a door to someone-and something- else opens.
“...the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is
weak.”
Matthew 26:41
So, most of
the time, our “no response” to both matters of willingness and wellness, ushers
in Mr. Hyde.
“Where there is no vision, the people
perish...”
Proverbs 29:18
There’s
another translation to this powerful scripture:
“Where there is no
vision, people cast off restraint.”
I believe
that particular translation speaks more accurately of us. Here exists our
dangerous addiction alter ego, Mr. Hyde. We are confronted by self-sabotage.
Many of us are wrestling with various demons, compelling our passions. We
possess psyches which, already broken and bruised, operate from negative
assertions, things like...
I am worthless.
I am pointless.
I am joyless.
Indeed, what
drove Dr. Jekyll to look for something outside of himself? Deep insecurity?
Some form of “less than?”
We certainly
don’t see this character as content with himself and with his life. He believed
he needed something extra, something more, to enhance things.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so
is he...”
Proverbs 23:7
He, in
essence, believed the hype of his Hyde; he believed that persona was his
answer.
And that
makes the next reality even more challenging.
The Tricky Heart:
“…‘Do you want to
get well?’"
John 5:6
Before Mr.
Hyde, exists Dr. Jekyll. Before behavior, comes the issue-laden heart.
“For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also.”
Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34
Failure to
know, to acknowledge and to deal with that truth leave us even more vulnerable
to Matthew
26:41’s point.
“...the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is
weak.”
But, if Dr. Jekyll
is oblivious or hardened to that perspective, inevitably, Mr. Hyde surfaces. He
is the attitude which refuses to accept and deal with individual, flawed
humanity.
“The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
He is that
direct defiance of addiction as ugly truth.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:8
And, once we
allow that to be our “normal,” we cross into another dangerous level. We are
emboldened to believe our actions will never catch up with us.
“He hath said in his heart, I shall not be
moved: for I shall never be in adversity.”
Psalms 10:6
Mr. Hyde,
sooner or later, will kill and destroy. My Hyde rages against our lives.
And that
affects the rubber meets the road truth of active recovery.
Doing the Life’s Work:
“…‘Do you want to get well?’"
John 5:6
The recovery
phrase, “doing the work” not only addresses the healthier action of sobriety,
but to an improved life overall.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
And again,
our baseline is Dr. Jekyll. He is our vulnerability and our potential for
destruction.
“...the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is
weak.”
Matthew 26:41
“One day at
a time,” therefore, is the necessary, daily commitment we make. When we
recognize both our need for willingness and our fragile humanity, we, in
essence, say “yes” to John 5:6’s question. We engage in
our work and welcome the Divine intervention which oversees the entire process.
“And I will give them a heart to know
me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”
Jeremiah 24:7
However, if
we say “no,” Mr. Hyde rears his destructive head again. He comes with toxic
defiance.
“He hath said in his heart, ‘I shall not be
moved: for I shall never be in adversity.’”
Psalms 10:6
“...‘God hath forgotten... he will
never see it.’”
Psalms 10:11
Mr. Hyde’s lifeblood
is denial. And this mocks our need to do the recovery work, to change, to heal.
Our Creator
knows us: every thought, motivation, delusion and sickness. He knows. He knows
if we are Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde right now, right this second.
“The king's heart is in the hand of
the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Every
way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”
Proverbs 21:1-2
This is
comprehensive knowledge of our entire health. And that health must extend
beyond ourselves.
Being Mindful of Others:
“…‘Do you want to
get well?’"
John 5:6
Dr. Jekyll
has enough common sense and decency to realize he is not an island unto
himself. There is a sphere of influence close to him. Impressionable souls are
watching.
“Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge
this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his
brother's way.”
Romans 14:13
This stumbling block factor amplifies where we
stand on health and recovery. For, if we truly have embraced the tenets of
sobriety, we take ownership of our influence on others. In our addictions, we
have caused pain; in our addictions, we have caused others to stumble.
“...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41
But, again, refusal to face that invites Mr.
Hyde to do what he does best: destroy.
“Where there is
no vision, the people perish...”
Proverbs 29:18
Again, we’re back to casting off restraint.
Addiction, much like our dear Mr. Hyde has, at
its core, rampant, potentially murderous, selfishness. All we chase is our high.
How much was laid waste because we let it rip?
Recovery unflinchingly challenges the addict
to face his/her personally executed desolation. And, part of that healing
addresses our role as destructive influencer, luring others into disease.
Again, no person is an island unto
himself/herself. The ripple effect, unfortunately, can drown anyone in its
undercurrent.
Let’s face it: Mr. Hyde would rather have his
potion than anything else. Nothing bothers him in the throes of his passion. A
relationship or even a person could die and it would not matter. He has his beloved.
Everything and everyone else is expendable, save his cherished addiction.
“A double minded man
is unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:8
This Jekyll and Hyde factor, to a certain degree, affects all of us by its
precarious duality.
But those of us prone to addiction have an
even more intense vulnerability.
Bifurcation’s definition, indeed, is “the division of something into two branches or parts.”
If we refuse to acknowledge and
deal with that, we convey we are agreeable to any misfortune which inevitably
follows our self-destructive decision; it is synonymous with our potion/addiction
and its madness for which we see no reason to quell.
Right now, we have a decision
to make: we can choose the single or double minded path. We can confront our
Dr. Jekyll, our Mr. Hyde and our disease.
We can choose to stop or
continue the division. We can choose.
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Addiction: The Dissolving Cotton Candy
I am a
sucker for all things cute; therefore, I frequently find myself checking out
various animal gifs online.
A recent one
which captivated my attention was of a raccoon and some cotton candy. Has anyone
else seen it?
A raccoon
grabs a significant hunk of cotton candy and, like raccoons are prone to do,
quickly rushes to a water source to “wash it” before eating it.
And then
hard, cruel reality presents itself: the cotton candy dissolves in the water, instantly
slipping through the little guy’s tiny hands, distressing and confusing our friend.
You can almost hear him cry, “No! No! Come back!”
This gif
made me think about addiction. We are, in essence, this little raccoon, aren’t
we? We decide on and chase our cotton candy addiction, convinced it will
satisfy us. And then, somehow, right before our eyes, its solution promise
dissolves. It didn’t deliver; it didn’t last.
“Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen;
let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
Judges 10:14
And, here we
are, left confused and lost. Now what do we do?
Well, cue
God, right?
“Fear thou not; for I
am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10
But, do we?
That seems
to be the dilemma.
Here’s where
Eve, a raccoon and each of us all share something in common...
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes...”
Genesis 3:6
One can
argue the phrase “eye candy” started here.
(I know, bad pun, bad pun).
Still, we
seem to be captivated with the beautiful, alluring object of our affection. It
somehow sells us on the answer of eternal satisfaction, love, happiness and
freedom from pain and fear.
And so,
going with that hard sell, we soon find it in our hands, attempting to hold it
forever, allowing it to make everything right in our lives.
But, no
matter how hard we try to hang on, it dissolves in the midst of our beings. We
try to grasp and chase, but it is gone. We torture ourselves by asking
questions like “What could I have done to make it last?”
Answer:
nothing.
That’s a
difficult answer to hear, let alone, accept.
Yet, accept
we must. It’s the bedrock of the Twelve Steps:
Step number one...
We admitted we were powerless over our
addiction/compulsion - that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step number two...
Step number three...
Step number eleven...
We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood
Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry
that out.
Step number twelve...
Having had a spiritual awakening as the
result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to
practice these principles in all our affairs.
So, yes, Psalm 118:8-9 is in full effect...
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes."
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes."
No, God is not cotton candy. Or, more specifically...
“God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not
do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good.”
Numbers 23:19
We are not to trust anything manmade. And, let’s face it, our addictions
are manmade: they are faulty, imperfect human interpretations of what God
should be to us. We craft them for ourselves because we operate under the
delusion that they work.
They don’t.
Again, what happened as the raccoon tried to wash his cotton candy?
“What
profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten
image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to
make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone,
Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there
is no breath at all in the midst of it.”
Habakkuk
2:18-19
Repeatedly, through failure after failure, we see how our trusted answers
did not come through. There were never meant to do so.
Only God...
"For the LORD will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught."
Proverbs 3:26
And will keep your foot from being caught."
Proverbs 3:26
He is not a man that He should lie...
And He is not cotton candy, that He should disappear.
Let’s, therefore, learn from the raccoon- and face the reality of our own
cotton candy, whatever it may be.
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
“Stay Out of It”
One of my
favorite television series, “Mad Men” offers up a scene in which one ad mad
conveys this message to another character:
“Stay out of it.”
Hmmm.
Sometimes, that is sometimes spot-on spiritual advice, isn’t it?
Meddling or helping-
which one is it each of us are doing at any given time?
This becomes
an especially valid question concerning our own self-interest. And, c’mon, be
honest, most of us are EXTREMELY self-interested.
The entertainer,
RuPaul states it this way:
“Someone else’s opinion of me is none
of my business.”
This quote
can be an incredible lifeline in the context of people pleasing, versus
effective recovery and a purposeful life.
Yes, in an
ideal world, everyone would love us, think highly of us and have nothing but
the best things to say about us. But, do we live in an ideal world?
So, there
will be chatterboxes, gossips, critics and even enemies out there. And guess
what they’ll all come armed with? Offenses.
“Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must
needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
Yep, those
critters often don’t feel great to our egos, our feelings and our outlook on
life.
And we can
get ourselves in an incredibly unproductive, self-flogging snit, obsessing
about why “so and so” thought or said what about us.
At the end
of the day, it doesn’t really matter. After all, reality check, Jesus had more
than His share of naysayers, critics and enemies…
“Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were
only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were
scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.”
Matthew 26:4
“Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him,
how they might destroy him.”
Matthew 12:14
“And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and
kill him.”
Matthew 26:4
“Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to
put him to death.”
John 11:53
You get the
point.
So, why
should we expect to glide easily and
unchallenged through life?
“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above
his lord.”
Matthew 10:24
Scripture,
therefore, is an important filter, screening with accurate perspective, what is
the true intent of a thought, word or deed…
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise
thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
Deuteronomy 30:6
“But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest
righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on
them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.”
Jeremiah 11:20
“For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
Bottom line:
our lives are far too important to worry about each and every opinion out
there. We have too much to do.
So,
concerning the next offense which breezes your way, ask yourself if God really wants you occupied with it? Test the spirits…
“Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false
prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is of God:
And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this
is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and
even now already is it in the world.
Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the world.
They are of the
world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is
not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit
of error.”
1
John 4:1-6
Perhaps, the
Most High God would rather you “stay out of it.” Perhaps He has better ways for
you to be blessed in how you spend your time.
In all of
our “staying out of it” then, let’s remember there’s a quite helpful “do…”
“Trust in the Lord
with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Less
“busybody,” more productive child of the Most High. Let’s all choose well.
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
Fear: To Be a Slave
“...‘We have heard a voice of
trembling, of fear, and not of peace.’”
Jeremiah 30:5
“Fear” is spoken of over 500 times in the Bible. So, to me, that signifies
it’s a topic worth noting.
I believe the 1980’s science fiction film, “Bladerunner” makes a powerful statement on
fear.
There are various discussions
about the story and the complexity of the Roy Batty character in particular.
He’s often viewed as the villain. But, if we dig deeper, perhaps there’s more
to the story.
Batty is a kind of futuristic
robot who has an expiration date of four years. This tactic is implemented to
ensure that, in the event a robot develops troublesome feelings, emotions and
agendas, humanity is safeguarded by the possible destruction the robot could cause.
However, Roy Batty has apparently experienced
these turbulent human emotions firsthand; hence, he is viewed as that
much-feared threat to human beings.
Therefore, the “bladerunner,” a robot
killer for hire, is assigned the task of destroying him before it’s too late.
And, after Batty’s rampage and
search for knowledge about his existence, he eventually shares his observation
on fear.
“Quite
an experience to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it’s like to be a slave.”
Scripture immediately sprung to my
mind at this point in the film...
“... fear hath torment...”
1 John 4:18
I may be alone in my compassion
for Roy. But I do not see him as the inherently malevolent villain. Rather,
much like Frankenstein’s monster, I see the scared and sad creation of an ego-driven
individual whose arrogance authored this destruction.
Fear is a painful and disorienting
plague often testing every human being. No one escapes it; no one is left
untouched by it.
“Men's hearts failing them for fear...”
Luke 21:26
Scripture, indeed, cautions us on
its trap...
“The fear of man bringeth a snare...”
Proverbs 29:25
But Proverbs 29:25 goes on to offer us some hope, even in the midst
of its warning...
“... but whoso putteth his trust in the
LORD shall be safe.”
Proverbs 29:25
“The Great I Am,” indeed, is our
Source to everything we need, desire and yearn for. Freedom is essential to
those Divine gifts.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect
love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:18-19
However, the challenge arises when
many of our lives, in one way or another, have experienced some version of
enslavement. Struggles with abuse, addiction, neglect and loss have taught us
to be afraid. Yes, we learned how to fear. Life somehow broke our hearts and
created our reached conclusions:
“I’m not lovable.”
I’m not wanted.”
“I’m not enough.”
“I’m not safe.”
These conclusions enslave us. They
have us looking at our past, present and future with doubt and dread. If we’re
not careful, we can come to the point where we believe life is not worth
living. Suicidal mindsets flourish because, we may believe death is a welcomed
alternative to our enslaved circumstances.
Even Divine Intervention can
appear to be too oppressive, disappointing and pointless. We can reach a
decision: it’s hopeless.
Yet, it is here where we need to
discern the spirits (1 John 4:1). It’s important we recognize the spirit of
enslavement comes not from the Most High God. It we experience hopelessness,
dread and despair, it comes from a place of evil.
“For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind.”
2
Timothy 1:7
The Most High desires our freedom
even more than we do.
“For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received
the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15
We need to tap into that. And,
even if we are in the middle of any kind of oppression or bondage, the Almighty
has that covered as well.
“And it shall come to pass in the day
that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from
the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.”
Isaiah14:3
Roy Batty’s perspective is echoed
in the many young people I encounter. They come from lives filled with disorder,
abuse and addiction.
I hear their voices tell me “I’m
trapped and I’m scared.”
Fear is something each of us faces
in life. It does not signify weakness, failure, illegitimacy, un-lovability or disqualification.
Experiencing fear means we are
human.
And, as those human beings, you
and I are spoken to directly WHEN, NOT IF, we fear...
“Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, ‘Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even
God with reparations; he will come and save you.’”
Isaiah 35:4
There is hope; there is freedom!
Our Creator, indeed, created you
to experience this freedom; you are, in no way, to be a slave.
Dare to believe that and experience
the liberation the Divine wants you to live!
Copyright © 2018 by
Sheryle Cruse
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