Pastor Hargrove said something in his Sunday Morning Lesson that caught my attention: "Temptation is a fine thread. That thread becomes a string. That string becomes a rope. That rope becomes a chain...a chain that shackles you".
Wikipedia says something interesting about temptation...that temptation is used to describe acts that tend to lead to a person regretting such actions.
A temptation can seems so small in our eyes. That one may not think twice about giving in to such a "small temptation". But those "small temptations" can lead that person being shackled but the very thing they thought to be harmless.
We are ALL tempted at one point or another. It is how we react to that temptation that makes the difference. But, if by chance you find yourself shackled...Praise can unleash those shackles. When I was a teenager, I had a vision one night after a service at Youth Camp of this very thing. In the vision, I looked down and saw chains shackled on my wrists. They drug down to the floor in a heap. I heard the voice of God tell me...just lift your hands to praise me. As I did, I watched the shackles fall to the floor. God provides a way of escape from temptation...we need to take the escape route He provides.
So...for those times that one may feel shackled by the temptations that they have given in to...as usual, a song comes to mind: Shackles sung by Mary Mary
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
In the corners of mind
I just can't seem to find a reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been down for so long
Feel like the hope is gone
But as I lift my hands, I understand
That I should praise you through my circumstance
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gonna lose my mind
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
Cause I can't take it anymore
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain
So let me go right now
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
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