Exactly a week ago today I experienced firsthand, the death grip of the enemy on those battling addiction- something that I will never forget. A girl around my same age, lying lifeless with her head in my hands while her life was slipping away from a heroin overdose. I have been aware of the spiritual battle between good and evil that we are a part of during our time on this earth. But last Sunday, as I pleaded with a girl to keep breathing- despite being unresponsive- I felt the pull of the spiritual war we are living in.
For going on five years, I’ve been working in ministry with a group of women trying to share the love of Jesus with mothers in addiction recovery. When we meet with these women to do bible study every other Monday night, they are already detoxed or are going through the process. Some have come to the six-month program following incarceration, some have come because they are trying with every fiber of their being to get clean for themselves, and for their children. We are there to provide encouragement, to give hope and to tell them the Good News- that no matter where they’ve been or how far they have strayed – God’s grace is enough- for them, for all of us. We are there to encourage them to ask Jesus to step in and help them thru their battle with addiction- because WE know that there is no power in Hell that can stand against the miracle working power of Jesus. We know that in HIM, lives can be redeemed. We are there to make sure these women know that truth as well.
Ironically, the experience that I had last Sunday had nothing to do with the ministry we do downtown. In fact, it occurred nowhere near there.
Like I told the women this past Monday night, I believe drugs are the devil’s poison. Drug and alcohol abuse are some of his tools to destroy people’s lives, to ruin marriages, steal joy, provoke shame and take lives. And the devil is having a field day with the communities of this country.
You can have your opinions about drug users. But I will say this- addiction knows no zip code. Addiction knows no social class. Addiction knows no race. Addiction doesn’t care if someone grew up going to church. Addiction is the game of the enemy. And it is being played on the hopelessness of people, both young and old, in all our communities.
Youth and adults, even coming from strong family and faith backgrounds, can succumb to the grips of addiction – especially with the substances that we are facing today. Experimenting today often leads to full blown life changing addiction.
Without hope, people do desperate things. Without hope, people make careless decisions. Without hope, people turn to substance instead of turning to Jesus. And we are a nation in desperate need of the hope of Jesus.
While I held the head back of this young woman to help keep her airway open, rubbing an ice water drenched rag over her forehead, myself and the others helping took instructions from 911- I begged her to keep breathing. I prayed over her for God to spare her and give her another chance at LIFE. But for the nearly 20 minutes that we waited for EMS, I wasn’t sure if that day was going to be her last. Watching someone overdose firsthand was life changing. I was passionate about encouraging youth and young adults in faith, leadership, and hope for a better future beyond addiction before having witnessed this. Now my eyes are opened even wider to just how critical it is that we reach people before it is too late.
See minutes before this happened, she was simply at work, sharing stories with my dad about her friends and family. She was a hard worker with a bright smile and bubbly personality. And then minutes later-after stopping mid-sentence- she was lifeless on the floor. Because drugs don’t care.
They often don’t allow for do overs or second chances. They are used as band aids for wounds that only God can heal, but they are often the fatal cyanide for the soul who is longing for something more.
While the Narcan was administered in time in this case- it may not be for the next.
There are so many arms to the addiction crisis in America. It would be impossible to address them all at once. But we can start within our four walls. We can start by sharing the love of Jesus with our kids and our loved ones, so that when the hard times come- because they will- they turn to Jesus for their Hope and Strength and not the poisons of the enemy. We can examine how we are living our lives, what our habits are, and what they may be encouraging to the little ones that are watching. Thinking about what we allow into our homes. There is no longer time to parent with one foot in the world and one foot in our faith. We cannot be lukewarm any longer.
We can look out of our own walls and into our communities. Because no matter where you live, you are living among people who have either given up on God or have never met Him in the first place.
We can pray for those struggling with addiction and for their families who are also affected. We can pray for cycles and strongholds to be broken. For some, they will be the first of their family to get clean. Pray that they will be a generation changer for their family- that the history of substance abuse will stop with them.
And pray for our nation- that God will guide and direct us to solutions for this war on drugs. We can pray for God to call up leaders in our homes, our schools, our churches and our communities. Leaders that our young people can learn from and emulate that will mentor them in their faith walk and through life’s difficulties- so that they never even think that drugs could be the answer to their problems.
No single person will be able to right this ship. But could you imagine the difference we could make if as a nation we diligently prayed for the drug epidemic that is at our door. The difference that could be made if we opened our hearts to those who are struggling and showed them the grace of God. The difference we could make if as parents we took a firmer stand against what is right and what is wrong. The difference if we lead our homes by example in how we live our lives, love our spouses and seek the Lord and His will for us.
I am done seeing so many lives and families ripped apart by the poisons of the enemy. We all should be. I would be shocked if someone reading this didn’t know someone that has lost a battle with addiction or whose life has been wrecked by the effects of drug use. It may have been a family member, a friend, co-worker- but this issue blankets all of us. No one is exempt. The stories that I have heard from women in recovery- about what led them down the path of addiction- are often so heartbreaking it is hard to even fathom. What I have noticed though is that it seems to be a lack of hope for a better future that keeps them from seeking help to get clean and change their lives. If all hope is lost, it is hard to see the point in trying. We all need hope.
It is a spiritual battle between good and evil that we are fighting here on this side of heaven. A battle for the souls of every single person who is here on this earth- a battle between what is LIFE Giving and what leads to death. If you can do nothing else- pray. Go to God in prayer for the souls that are in the battle of addiction, for the people who are tempted, and for the children of this nation that they will be able to lean into their faith and not drugs and alcohol.
To the young girl who gave me a whole new fire for this fight, I pray that you know God has a better plan for your life than the high you are seeking. I pray that you hit rock bottom last weekend so that you can only look up and ask Jesus to save you from this addiction hell. Because that is what life in addiction is- it is living hell. You are worthy of a better life, and you are loved beyond your wildest imagination by your Father in Heaven. Ask someone you can trust to find you help. Choose the path that leads you to LIFE.
And if you are reading this and you are in your own battle- whether it be drugs, alcohol, depression, an eating disorder, an abusive relationship- or any of life’s hard fights- God is with you. He has not left you or forsaken you. It is His promise to everyone who believes in him. Call on Jesus. Ask him to help you. Say his name. The enemy flees at the mention of His name. As a believer in Christ, you have the power of the Living God on your side. He is for you. You need to choose to tap into it. He is a miracle-working God, and you are never too far gone to choose the path that leads to LIFE. Jesus was sent here so that we wouln’t have to live in the chains of our pasts, our addictions, our shortcomings and our mistakes. He came so that you could have LIFE and have it to the FULLEST.
I hope I never again witness what I saw a week ago. Where a decision for a quick fix of heroin almost cost a girl a little younger than me, the rest of her life. These drugs steal, kill and destroy- they are the work of the thief.
Let’s work toward cultivating Hope for our youth and those who are living without it. Filling our homes, our schools, our communities and our country with the Hope of the World. We need Him.
“The Thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they may have LIFE and have it to the full.” John 10:10
