Dear Heavenly Father, many are under the influence of alcohol. They put their trust in a bottle for comfort, yet you are the Comforter. You are the One who delivers us from all our sins, through the shed blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. I think back over the years of my life, and I remember what I came from and who I am now. I stand in awe. You are my Deliverer, my Redeemer, my Comforter, my Salvation, my Healer and my Lord. I will always put my trust in You, for you are my God and my Father. You love me as none other. You are my Peace, my All. I pray Father for my brothers and sisters in Christ who may read this devotional, that if they are struggling with alcohol, their cries for deliverance would pierce the ears of heaven and Your hand of healing would set them free. I also pray for the unsaved. The devil has blinded their eyes from knowing the truth that Jesus saves. Open their spiritual eyes that they may catch a glimpse of eternity without God and thus cry out to you for deliverance. Have mercy on us Father and forgive us of our sins, for I ask this in Jesus' precious Name, Amen.
Story Three:
My two oldest children are in school, my husband is at work, and the youngest is playing. There seems to be nothing but sadness in my heart as I pick up a bottle of wine to pour myself a drink. It’s still early morning. I’m a baby Christian and know nothing about all of God’s unconditional love. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home and married life wasn’t as I anticipated it to be. I could easily become an alcoholic, or maybe I already am. I cry out to God for help, I so desperately want to change…
(Proverbs 23 verse 29) Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Story Two:
It’s a men’s league at the Bowling Alley. We sat in the bar area getting ready to go home after a night of competition. Quite a few were gathered around the tables in the lounge area, discussing various issues of the day. My husband and I ordered our drinks and made conversation with others at the bar. Tom was drinking strong liquor called Tequila, and began getting quite boisterous. Sitting next to me on the other side is a man who apparently has had enough of my husband’s rowdy behavior and decides to whisper a derogatory message in my ear. Knowing if I told my husband, a fight would inevitably break out, so I kept my mouth closed until the ride home. Quickly our car did a U turn and we begin to head back to the bowling alley, where my husband will now be able to confront the guy who made the defamatory remarks. Screaming, ranting 'n raving, my husband pounds on the bar, pointing his finger at the bar tender, wanting to know who the guy was and where he was. He acted like a mad man, telling the whole lounge he’d take them all on if anyone got in his way…now this is just a condensed version of what really happened that night, and just how the influence of alcohol can alter someone’s behavior and cause them to react differently than they would if sober.
Read Proverbs 23:29-35
Story One:
It was late, we were all in bed, and morning comes early when you have to get ready for school. Our father came home drunk again, but this time anger was in his voice as he told us to get up and come downstairs. Yelling and screaming about something, I don’t recall now what it was, but he made us sit on the couch from the oldest down. There were five of us at that time and I remember shaking as I watched my older brothers get spanked. We were all going to get the belt if the one who did it didn’t confess…that’s all I remember of that evening.
Alcohol can destroy a life, it almost destroyed ours, don’t let it get a grip on yours…there’s always help and deliverance for those who want to be set free.
