When we were in South Africa, a man pulled up behind the car we were getting in, got out, and asked if I was Mary Lou. And I said “Nope” and got in the car to go to a drug and alcohol support group run by our hosts. When we got to where we were going, we realized the same car was pulling up right behind us. The man gets out, and starts talking to our host.
Now this man, he was high as a kite. He said that he had shot up 12 minutes before getting in the car, and his girlfriend was trying to drive him somewhere when they pulled up behind us and she saw a bumper sticker on the car that said “Jeremiah 29:11”. Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew that she was supposed to take him there.
And while I may not have understood much of what he said, he had way more biblical knowledge and scripture memorized than I could ever hope to. He was busting out verses left and right, quoting and relating, and it was beautiful. It was beautiful to see the way that the Lord was speaking through this broken man, speaking life and truth over the rest of us.
And he said “There is no animal in the animal kingdom that will eat poison every day except for us.” Isn’t there such truth in that statement? While I may not be addicted to drugs, I consume poison every day. I believe the lies that are said about me. I buy into the things the world says. I doubt my worth, comparing myself to others, eating the poison day after day after day.
And while sometimes we don’t know what we’re eating is poisonous, the sad part is that often times we do. We often know that the behavior, the choice, the thought, is wrong, but we’re addicted to the cycle. We don’t know how to break free. All we see is the place we’re at, and the security in knowing what’s going to happen as we keep making those choices.
And by doing this, we’re going against nature. We’re going against the way that God designed us to be. The pain, confusion, and insecurity that we experience are a result of the broken world we live in and the broken lives we live. And it freaking sucks.
But the freedom is available, and that freedom is Christ. We need to put aside the lies that this world tells us, stop consuming the poison, and start nourishing ourselves with the truths that the Lord declares over each of us. We are loved, we are valued, and we are each created with a purpose. Step into that freedom.
