Life is hard, but it brings hope
Life is hard.
You’ve probably heard this phrase, and thought about it yourself, countless times throughout your life.
For example…
When you were a kid, crying over something seemingly unfair that happened between you and a friend…
When you spent hours, after hours, diligently studying (every day) for a semester, only to fail your final exam…
When he worked to pay off credit card debt and finally felt like his head was rising out of the water, only to be hit with new bills for fixing a broken refrigerator, clogged septic tank, and leaky roof…
When your daughter was in a car accident the same month your spouse’s father died…
There is no end to the trials of life. But as Mr. Scott Peck says in the opening of his classic The road less traveledOnce we truly accept the fact that life is hard, it no longer matters that life is hard. For now, we can buckle down and start solving our problems.
The circumstances of life lead many people to find an “escape” in difficulties through temporary arrangements that we call addictions. The outlets are numerous: overeating, overworking, spending too much money, drinking excessively, gambling, smoking, and the list goes on… One of the most common types of escapist addictions comes in the form of sex.
One morning the news reported on a man who had sexually abused a girl. He had just been caught. While I would in no way try to minimize how despicable this man did, I wonder if deep down he hated what led him to become a sexual monster, something he felt he had no control over.
Years ago, I saw a high-profile man taken away by the police on child pornography charges. The words he spoke pierced me: “Thank God, the nightmare is over!” This man had been the slave of a horrible addiction that, deep in his heart, he hated with a passion.
Many of you know what I’m talking about, maybe most of you.
On another morning newscast, a sex counselor referred to the Tiger Woods adultery scandal as a recovery, saying: “Cure is a word we never use. He is recovering and he will recover for the rest of his life.”
never cured? What a sad future! I can assure you that Jesus Christ offers much more hope than this counselor. I have experienced victory from him and have known multitudes that have moved well beyond recovery.
If you don’t address the root of your addiction, then yes, “always get better” is as far as you can go, but if you let the truth heal you, one day you will be able to say goodbye to your addiction for the last time. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and The truth will set you free…therefore if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:32, 36; emphasis added). He has given us a hope beyond perpetual recovery. Through Jesus Christ, you can not only face your addiction, but also truly overcome it.