Firm Grip

Distorted beliefs lead to self-defeating behaviors. Even when we are aware that they are false and destructive, these delusions can have a firm grip on us. We can’t seem to shake free of either the enslaving deception or the injurious habits that are its spawn.

It’s like a corrupt code that is embedded in a computer program. It wasn’t factory-installed. Somehow it wormed its way in, most likely during a routine download or by opening a seemingly harmless attachment. Once it has infected your computer, it messes up the entire operating system.

We all have some such corrupt code—and getting rid of it is not easy. I have several false beliefs that I can’t seem to disentangle myself from. Why is it that some people are rehabilitated from addictions and obsessions, while others are not?

The first step to any recovery is awareness. Once we are conscious of the problem and its root source—then we may begin to extricate ourselves. It’s imperative to detach from lies in order to grasp truth. This is our part. We have to stop holding on to distorted beliefs.  

“The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.” (1 John 5:18-20 MSG)

God reaches out His hands to us. Yet, as long as we continue to hang on to the world, and its deceptions, we cannot grasp the truth. We have to disengage from the clutches of evil, in order to firmly grip God’s outstretched hands.