The world is a noisy and chaotic place. It’s a wonder how we ever find the time to stop and hear from God. For some of us, we rise early in the morning and read the Bible with a cup of coffee, pillow marks still on our face. For others, we’re listening to a worship song while driving to work in rush hour traffic. Without intentionality we can easily get caught up in the day and forget to create a moment of solitude to commune with our Father in Heaven. He wants to speak to us, to grant us revelation and transform us into all that he has called us to be. But it requires that we set aside distractions and make space for him.
From an early age, Scott’s life was dominated by distractions that kept Him from hearing the voice of God for many years. He was born into a family of alcoholism and abuse. When his mother left him at the age of 6, he and his brother became the sole victims of his father’s drunken rage. They walked on eggshells in their own home. By the age of 13, Scott was angry and confused, searching for some kind of relief. But where does a 13-year-old boy find relief in a home like this? In the only cure he’d ever seen, alcohol. “I remember the feeling I felt when I drank,” Scott said, “I had no worries or cares.” It was a welcome distraction from the anxiety of living in a home built on fear.
Scott became a full-blown alcoholic by the age of 15. But even the hazy distraction of drinking couldn’t restrain the anger growing inside of him. He describes himself at that age as a “walking time bomb.” He was hurting and drinking only took him further into his pain. He was searching for healing in all the wrong places, and ultimately his toxic lifestyle landed him in a rotation of jail, prison and rehab.
During one of these stints behind bars, Scott heard the story of Jesus for the first time, causing him to wonder if Jesus may have something to offer that alcohol could not. While his faith didn’t fully take root, a hope was born inside of him. His battle with addiction continued for 15 more years, but the haze had started to clear. He began to realize that the distraction of alcohol wasn’t the only way to feel free. When he wasn’t incarcerated, he even occasionally found himself in church in moments of surrender. “I was changing a little at a time,” Scott said. He was saved and being saved.
At the age of 50, Scott was sentenced to up to 8 years in prison. Consumed with anger, Scott’s behavior landed him in solitary confinement for two full weeks. Finally, a place where all distractions were stripped away. There was no alcohol, no one to be angry with. And as he sat in that concrete room all by himself, he began to search his own soul. At last, there was space and time, albeit unwanted, to stop and reflect. And the Spirit of God, our Friend and Counselor, began to move in Scott’s heart. He began to cry and gave his life to the Lord for the very last time.
In a concerted effort to cling to his faith this time, he began to do the CLI Bible Studies. Scott said,
“I’ve learned so much from them. I have honestly changed the way I think and see and do things. I know it is God that did all the changing in me. I have a new outlook on life. I am a new Scott and I love it!”
And though he is still in prison and still facing life’s difficulties, Scott has continued to retain that new outlook. He doesn’t let the pain of life send him running for a distraction. Instead, Scott dreams of all that God might have in store for him. He hopes to build a home of his own one day and serve in the local church. He is choosing to break the legacy of pain, distraction and addiction in his family. He’s choosing to focus on the promises of God. And while he is no longer in solitary confinement, he continues to create solitude to commune with his Father in Heaven.
