Internal Bondage...Lesson Ten...

 When we are under the influence of our addictions, their hold on us may seem to have supernatural force. We may give up on life and throw ourselves into self-destructive behaviors with reckless abandon. Others may also give up on us. They may distance themselves from us, as though we were already dead. Whether our "insanity" is self-induced or has a more sinister origin, there is power available to restore us to sanity and wholeness.
  Jesus helped a man who was acting insanely. "This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles - as he often was - he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones" (Mark 5:3-5). Jesus met the demon-possessed man and assessed the situation. He dealt with the forces of darkness that were afflicting the man and restored him to sanity. He then sent him home to his friends to tell them what God had done for him.
  We may have gone so far into our addictions that we have broken all restraints. We struggle to be free from the control of society and loved ones, only to discover that our bondage doesn't come from the outside. All hope seems lost, but when there is still life, there is still hope. God can touch us in our insanity and restore us to sanity.

Bible Reading Mark 5:1-13