I am a Billboard – Part 1 …Escaping The Entrapment

Jun 26, 2022 News

---

My Testimony

By Sharmain Grainger

Kaieteur News – Being lured into an entrapment can sometimes appear to be one of the most delightful experiences but before you know it, it evolves into a living nightmare with no way of escape.
Indeed, there are all sorts of entrapments that people can find themselves in, but the one I’m referencing here today is that of substance addiction and as we all know accessing addictive substances these days is sometimes much easier than sourcing medicine to treat a chronic illness.
While there are some individuals who may test the potential of hard liquor, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy pills or molly) or a high-grade blunt, perhaps out of curiosity or just to fit in with their peers, what many do not know is that very few are able to evade their diabolical clutch simply by choosing to stop.
This is compounded by the fact that getting a perfect fix can be quite appetising these days. By this I mean, delicious goodness such as chocolate, gummies, cheesecake, red velvet cake, brownies are literally being sold laced with a combination of drugs and God knows what to ensure that customers keep returning for more.

Just last week my dear friend Dr. Zulfikar Bux, the Head of Emergency at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, in his column wrote about the increasing popularity of club drugs which include: flunitrazepam (roofies), GHB (liquid ecstasy), ketamine (special K), LSD (acid), MDMA (ecstasy or molly) and methamphetamine (meth).
Since these drugs are bad enough taken in isolation, one can only imagine the impact when multiples of these are ingested all at once. Addiction is a given once these are repeatedly used, and it becomes easier to achieve when the taste is delightful to the taste buds. These drugs, as Dr. Bux outlined, contain a combination of agents that affect your brain and central nervous system.
An even more chilling disclosure from the doctor was that “All of them can make you feel uninhibited and lead you to make choices or do things you wouldn’t otherwise do.”
Indeed, his disclosure caused me to reflect on my own life for I too at one point of my life had fallen into this trap call addiction.
As in many cases, I fell victim to the habit after I ingested a delicious snack, with a kick that gradually made its presence felt, was introduced to me. This of course was after trying alcohol and MDMA, neither of which worked well with my system. But the devil, being such a crafty hater of God’s creation, ensured that an alternative infiltration was afforded me that was pleasant enough for me to stomach. Before long I couldn’t get enough of the experience which drove me to request from several readily available sources the fix that would get me the ‘highest’.
The availability of these products is unprecedented. Not only can you have it delivered with a meal but you can easily have endless samples, just enough to pull you into the realm of addiction. I can speak with authority on this because it was once my life – a life which saw me daring to reach higher than the previous high each time, perhaps I even secretly aspired to reach the point of no return.
While many are convinced that achieving a high is an enjoyable experience, it really isn’t since you are literally accepting a lie that you are not good enough in the state that God made you. Not only that, but the lie literally sentences you to death because continuous use of drugs, alcohol or any other such substance only causes harm to your anatomy in more ways than one. This gives true meaning to John 10:10 which states: “The thief (devil) comes only to steal, kill and destroy…” but thanks be God the scripture does not end there, it continues like this: “I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
And, indeed, this was the only way out for me after I became a functional addict. I literally saw myself become absolutely dependent on my fix and hadn’t the will to halt the process. But thankfully the teachings I received ever since I was a child kept replaying in my mind that He “is not willing that any should perish…” as stated in 2 Peter 3:9.
So even though I continued to gravitate to my fix, at one point on a daily basis, I started to remind Jesus, my saviour, that I was doomed unless He helped me – I literally said: “Jesus I am doomed unless you help me.” It was not an overnight change but once I finally accepted that there was nothing I could do to change what I had become, He swooped in and miraculously saved me from myself.
Today I have no desire for that deceptive fix. Do I regret that experience? Absolutely not! In fact, I am happy I had the experience so that I can enlighten those struggling with addiction that Jesus is truly the way out. I have come to realise that the ultimate ‘high’ comes from Jesus and today I am proud to say I am a walking, talking billboard for Him.
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8 Amplified Bible)
(If you have an enlightening experience to share, email me @ [email protected])

---

---