Burn the Ships

Written By: Margie Davis

I love a good psychological thriller book and a while back I read one that drew me in from the first pages! The book opens with a woman who had been kidnapped and held in a locked and electronically monitored room for several years. Early into captivity she tried to get free multiple times only to be caught and punished harshly. The room she was kept in was very sterile and she had access to a bathroom, a bed and necessary food. Her basic needs were met. But she lived constantly knowing her captor could come at any time and abuse her however he chose. She got the sense that he wasn’t physically present every day, but she knew there were cameras in that room, and he was watching her every move. She eventually stopped trying to free herself and just accepted life as it was.

And then there was an apocalyptic, total power failure. The door that had always been electronically locked miraculously opened! Suddenly there was no noise at all. Unbelievably, she stayed in that room staring at that open door for 2 days and waited to see if this freedom was real or if it was a trick. She eventually made an escape plan and ran for freedom. As I read, I was cheering her on and praying she made it! (She did, and eventually the story had a positive ending.)

This story makes me think of all the ways God wants to set us free. He has already flung open the door of our “prison.” However, we just sit and stare at the open door. We settle for so much less than He wants to give us.

Josh said Sunday that we are all born into slavery. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Even the Apostle Paul felt this internal struggle! In Romans 7:15 He says it like this “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” This is possibly the most relatable scripture ever! It expresses the frustrating human condition of being unable to consistently live according to our good intentions! We have this ongoing battle between our spiritual desire to do good and the powerful, opposing pull of sin. The chains Josh demonstrated are the place we go back to when we get tired of the battle. And even though we want to be free, our chains are familiar, so we return to them.

Josh encouraged us to NAME our chain and then be FREE from it!

I realized that even though I have put many spiritual disciplines in place over the years, I haven’t given Him everything. “God, you can have my church attendance, my worship, my service, my prayer life and my Bible study, but I’m not quite ready to let go of my need to get approval from everyone else.” This is my biggest chain. I believe I have been this way since I was a child, and it seems nearly impossible to change the pattern. But if I’m going to go “all in” with whatever time God allows me to remain on this earth, I MUST leave that need for approval behind.

“Burn the ships” is a phrase that means to “take a decisive, irreversible action that eliminates any possibility of retreating or returning to a past situation, forcing a total commitment to a new goal, mission or future.” The phrase originates from ancient conquerors who destroyed their fleet after landing in enemy territory to compel their soldiers to fight to the death or achieve victory!

And GOODNESS have we landed in enemy territory! And the ENEMY is the one who wants us to stay stuck! We MUST be ready to fight to the death!

The road to true freedom is a one-way road. We must make RETURNING to our shackles more difficult than moving AWAY from them. For instance, if you are chained by alcohol dependency then don’t have it in your home and don’t hang out in places that tempt you. If you struggle with too much time on social media, set firm boundaries and adhere to them DAILY! In the case of someone like me who feels a strong pull toward the need for approval, I must memorize scripture to help me combat those insecure thoughts as directed in 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I can remember reading that book and wanting to scream at her to just GO! She sat there for so much longer than she needed to. And I can say SAME!

The door is open. Freedom is right there!

It’s time to go! Who’s ready to burn some ships?