Over the years, I have counseled a lot of students. While the situations and circumstances may have been different, the advice has been the same, look to the Scriptures. It often feels flippant or even trivial to state the obvious, look to God’s Word, but it is there that we find direction, comfort, wisdom, our identity, and a loving God who understands what we are going through. The reality is I don’t have any better advice than to open your Bible and seek the answers or the help you are looking for, because anything I would try to come up with on my own would fall short. So, these conversations over the years more than likely played a large part in me starting Hide and Seek Scriptures. As one student said after receiving a set, “I can’t ignore it, it’s got my name in it!”
We are all inundated with the things of this world screaming for our attention, but as we are all selfish (a painful statement, but true), when we see our name in Scripture it gets our attention. With each theme set, the goal of the compilation is to allow the words of God to teach, reproof, correct, and train for righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), and the most recent set is no different.
As I said, I have met with, cried with, and prayed with many students over the years who have battled against struggles with some difficult issues, including drinking, drugs, sexual identity, and purity, as well as pornography. While each of these battles plays out differently, the root of each battle stems from our sinful nature and the broken world we live in. So many of us, myself included, have battled addictions in one form or another, but the good news is we can be set free through Christ, who breaks the chains of our addiction.
When a student comes to me with a struggle or addiction, I often challenge them to grab onto a handful of verses and use God’s truth to combat the lies and the temptations they are facing. As Scripture is known as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), it is the greatest way to fight the enemy who wants to see us defeated. When the Word dwells in us or fills our lives, the things of this world will fade into the background and the enemy will have a difficult time distracting or even defeating us.
In recent months, I have walked through the dark and difficult days with a student who is recovering from addiction. Though I could not relate to the specific temptations, I knew the answers were in the Word, and so I did my best to send her verses daily. I then flipped the script and asked that she help me compile a list of verses that would be helpful for someone in the battle addiction. As she continued to stumble her way through her fight, it was fun to be able to send her the Scriptures she had identified. I would receive a text back saying how perfect the verse was and I would let her know it was one that she put on the list!
My prayer with adding No Longer Slaves to the Hide and Seek Scriptures card collection is that through these personalized verses, the hope of Christ may be found by more people walking through the dark valley of addiction. May the truth of His Word break the chains of your captivity, no matter what addiction you battle.