Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.  Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings darkness; before your feet stumble on the darkening hills.  You hope for light, but He will turn it into utter darkness and change it to deep gloom.  If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.  Jeremiah 13:15-17 NIV

In this scripture passage, God is talking through His prophet Jeremiah and warning the people of Judah that if they don’t turn from their wicked ways that He is going to allow them to be taken into captivity.  Now captivity is something that I would not want to face.  People are taken captive under different circumstances.  Prisoners of war are taken captive because these are people who are fighting for their country.  People are kidnapped through no control of their own.  Some are sold into sex slavery.  Some people are taken captive and placed into prison for failure to comply with laws or court orders.

In my years of working for probation and parole, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that so many people would be given set of rules to follow in order to stay free.  You could follow the rules and stay free at your home or you could disobey and be brought to, or returned to, prison.  To me it was a no-brainer.  Just follow the rules! Right?

But then I realized that there was a long period of my life where I failed to follow the rules and whether I realized it or not, I was held captive.  I was held captive by my sin.  I was in a prison of my own making.  The prison walls that surround us when we separate ourselves from God and allow sin to take over will close in and leave us in that darkness that will leave us in the darkness and deep gloom that is mentioned in the scripture.  You see sin is like quicksand.  One little step in and before you know it you are sinking and being pulled under.  Now God is there with his hand held out because He wants to save you, but you have to take His hand.  He gives us that choice.

When someone is placed on probation through the court system or on parole after serving a part of their sentence in prison, they have a specific set of rules that they must follow.  They are explained in great detail several times what these rules are and what the consequences of breaking these rules will be.  They sign off stating that they understand.  As Christians we are given a very specific list of rules to follow, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).  We know that the consequence of sin is death.  We are separated from God to spend eternity in hell, we are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15).  We are all warned that we will face judgement.  We are encouraged to repent and turn to God.  We are warned about hell.  But often times we don’t heed the warnings.  We are headed straight for captivity and we don’t do anything to stop it.

As a parole officer, I would sometimes issue warnings for minor violations or we could sometimes issue some type of sanction that was less restrictive.  Most of the time, though, our warnings went unheeded.  Just as many times we see people who do not heed God’s warning.  This breaks God’s heart.  It says in verse 17, “if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly overflowing with tears”.  God wants us not only to live but to have a good life.  He wants us to turn to Him before it’s too late.

If you are being held captive by sin, if you are a prisoner to your own evil desires, there is hope.  You can turn to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you of your sin.  You can lean on Him and draw from His strength to rid your life of your sinful behavior.  God wants each and every person to have life and have life in abundance (John 10:10).

Is your life full of chaos and turmoil?  Has your world turned dark and gloomy? Well, I’ve been there and done that.  Has being in control of your life left you feeling like your life is spiraling out of control?  What if you could have a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7)?  What if you could have unending joy (Isaiah 35:10)?  Well, you can.  It is yours for the taking.  Even if you are bogging in that quicksand, God is there with his hand stretched out to you.  You just have to grab on.

Thanks for letting me share what was on my heart with you today.  I pray that if you are reading this that you have escaped the captivity of sin and have run into God’s loving arms.  I pray that you are already experiencing peace and joy in your life.  But if you are reading this and are in captivity, contact me through this website or speak to a pastor or a Christian friend.  You can escape this captivity and live freely.

Have a great day!