1 Kings 8: All Have Sinned

“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; - 1 Kings 8:46-50 NIV

Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived knew man's heart.  He knew how easily the heart is taken captive, how easily it is stolen.  There is something so captivating about sin.  It creeps up on us, it belongs to someone else, it looks so alluring, even safe.  Then it traps us.  The enemy winds the tendrils of everything that was so attractive around us and binds us so tightly we cannot escape.  The enemy will never let go of us willingly, but we do have a recourse.  All we have to do is confess our sins, prostrate ourselves on the rock of our salvation, and we will be saved.   God will rescue us from the power of our oppressor, he will free us from the enemy's grasp.  The enemy may not be forgiving, but our God most surely is.