For most of us Independence Day brings to mind a strange mix of thoughts about picnics, fireworks and patriotism, autonomy, and the sacrifice of all who have fought to gain and preserve our freedoms. As a country it’s the day we celebrate the July 4, 1776 adoption of the Declaration of Independence that proclaimed our independence from Great Britain.
Independence. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “freedom from control, influence . . .” Isn’t that what every recovering addict is looking for on a personal level? We just want to be free from the incessant control and influence of those old thoughts and cravings. We want to lose our dependence on those behaviors to help us get through life.
But true and lasting freedom doesn’t come from a loss of dependence. It comes from a shift of dependence. The addictive behaviors have provided diversion, comfort, excitement, and so much more, but they have, in the process, stolen our freedom.
Only God can fully restore that freedom to us. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the more dependent we become on him for our protection, provision and value, the more we will know true independence.
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”—2 Corinthians 3:16-17
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