Breaking Chains

Samuel Jackson once said, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”  

Far too often I find that incredible, talented, intelligent people allow habits to become a part of their lives that in the beginning seem harmless, but then become unbreakable chains.  Young people enticed into trying things that are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken, because they are chained by them.   It’s tough, because sometimes those who find themselves held captive by the chains that once were not felt want to be set free, but somehow cannot find the key to freedom.

I know I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve learned a couple of things along the way.  I cannot walk into the trap of thinking that just because I don’t feel the chain it won’t hold me down.  I need to live life conscious of the fact that there are things I just cannot become entangled with, no matter what others or my desires might tell me.  I’ve also learned that if I find myself bound by the chains I once didn’t feel, I cannot rely on myself to be set free, I need help.

I’ve met wonderful people who’ve been bound by chains and do not find the freedom they so much desire because they won’t ask for help.  The Word teaches us that He came to set the captives free, and at times our first step to freedom is acknowledging that the chains are real, and that we cannot do it on our own.

Today my prayer is that we would have the discernment and conviction to not fall into the trap of thinking that a harmful habit will always remain an unfelt, weak chain; and that those who find themselves entrapped by chains would find the freedom that God wants us to enjoy, a free life.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

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