“A young lady confidently walked around the room while explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘Half empty or half full?’ She fooled them all. She inquired with a smile, ‘How heavy is this glass of water?’
“Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
“She replied, ‘The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
“She continued, ‘And that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”
This is a wonderful illustration of why the Bible says we need other believers in our lives. If we want to walk in freedom, we must let others into our lives as life happens to everyone, no matter who you are. And when it does, if we have someone to carry those challenges with us (Galatians 6:2), we can experience freedom from our drugs of choice.
Yes, fellow believers can be prickly at times. Yes, they can cause us occasional discomfort. I want you to look at the picture, though. Yes the cactus has needles that can hurt, but it also has a beautiful flower to view and is a source of water to drink and nourishment to eat once you get past those needles.
James 5:16 reveals that if you want victory over your drugs of choice, you’re going to need at least one prickly person in your life. Who will it be and when will you let them get close? You’ll be on your road to freedom as soon as you answer those two questions.

Set Free Noww“W”