Tuesday, September 18, 2012 -- Release For Captives

What do we have to say to those who have tried over and over again to stop a certain habit, only to fall victim to it again? Jesus Christ has an answer.  He said it was the very reason He left heaven to come to earth.  This is what Jesus said:  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”  (Luke 4:18-19 NLT)

It's been said, "Habits that begin as cobwebs sometimes end as cables." If repeated, they become more difficult to break. This applies to worry and anger as well as to alcohol and drug abuse. They include the movement we often make from chemicals to food or to run to unhealthy relationships when we ‘wake up’ in recovery and feel lonely.  Continuing to “act out” in these habits can lead us to feeling like captive to a life of confusion, worry, anger, fear, and resentment.

Jesus came not only to forgive our sins but also to break their hold over us. When we receive Him as Lord and Savior and ask Him for deliverance, He is willing and able to do that for us. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:36 NLT). Have we come to Jesus and asked Him to set us free?  Have we surrendered our lives -- our thinking and our acting to God's way of living?

God asks something of us in this process of release -- willingness, with His help, to form new habits of thought and action.  “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT). I can't receive new life if I'm holding onto the old.  I have to let go of my old way of thinking and acting and choose, over and over again, one choice at a time, to follow God's voice.  God will give me all the strength I need to do that but I must choose it. 

(Adapted from "Jammed Up With Dependencies" - Life With God in Recovery) Copyright 2012 Partners in Hope Recovery Society