6 July | Youth

My Refuge

«For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’» Isaiah 41:13

A young woman ruined by drugs. Homeless, she had lost her job, family, friends. Raggedy, she saw no meaning in life apart from addiction. She carried a makeshift pipe and a beautiful photo of her youth. Anyone who saw the photograph and compared it with the girl’s current image could not believe it was the same person.

It all started with a heartbreak. To make matters worse, she had lost custody of her daughter in a legal case. Since then, she never saw the child again and never knew her whereabouts.

Discouragement took over her life. She attempted suicide a few times and ended up being homeless, sinking deeper and deeper into the world of drugs. She lived on sidewalks, destroying her health and delving deeper into addictions.

How can we help someone who chooses to make drugs their inseparable companion? How can we free a person who believes that others want to imprison them to prevent them from enjoying what they love most? For that addicted mind, the few minutes of pleasure and thrill when taking drugs were a way to erase the past and move on with life.

Many become slaves to addictions and pleasures when seeking relief and refuge. Hooked on the seduction of the world, they end up imprisoned and condemning themselves to destruction. The number of people who seek relief from narcotic substances is worrying. Addiction only produces suffering and hopelessness.

The Bible invites us to seek refuge in God. He can hold our right hand and help us overcome any difficulty we face. For God there are no impossible things. It may be that an addiction has trapped you and has destroyed your life or, who knows, you have come to terms with the fact that you will only find relief and pleasure in the false shelters of the world.

I invite you to seek meaning in life in the Word of God. In it, you will find a reason to smile, dream and live. Just worry about holding the Father’s hands, and He will take care of the rest.