Unseen Chains
Statistics reveal that close to one million Americans are addicted to heroin, with over 14,000 overdosing annually. I hate to admit it, but when I used to hear about such drug abuse, I would conjure a mental image of a poverty-stricken area or some backwater town where a good education was scarce. However, this awful addiction is found among the wealthy and intellectually elite just as much as among the common person.
This drug triggers in people feelings of well-being and pleasure. For a brief moment, it is an escape into a bizarre, emotional paradise. This fantastical “high” is usually followed by nausea, vomiting, and itching. Over time, the user will become extremely fatigued, with severely impaired cognitive abilities and a slowed heart rate, drawing closer to a comatose state where all that's left is a shell devoid of substantial life.
Of course, the reality is that many of us have our own escapes—worldly illusions we cling to that keep our minds numb to life's hardships. Whether it is perverse entertainment, smoking, drinking, or extravagant living, these carnal fancies veer us away from a life of victory and purpose.
Jesus said in John 10:9-10, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
The devil strives to keep us from this abundant life in Christ by presenting drugs, fame, and possessions as necessary escapes and lasting enjoyments. So often, people are duped into thinking that to be surrendered to Christ is to be chained up in life, unable to enjoy it. We must understand that only the servant of Christ is truly free and we are “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10a).
Finally, for anyone facing addiction, I want to encourage you not to try to hide your own struggles. Be open and honest. Be willing to confess your faults, seeking for faithful believers to be prayer warriors and accountability partners (James 5:16). Cling to the word of God and don’t forsake worship with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:25). Rebuke the lies of the wicked one and know that there is hope and victory in Christ.
