Strength From Within

Freedom. Many take it for granted in the United States. Yet, daily, people are held captive sometimes by people they love the most. Abuse is rampant, but often misunderstood by those who have never experienced it. The questions continuously arise, ‘Why did you stay?’ ‘Why didn’t you fight back?’ ‘No one will ever lay a hand on me!’ ‘If it were me, I would have left a long time ago.’ Could you really have left, if you felt like you had no choice?

Pine Crest was a quiet little Ohio town, just outside of Cleveland. To the outside world, it seemed to function as any other town. However, upon closer inspection, Stacey and her father, Sam Spencer, discovered the dangerous secret that was this town’s reality. Corruption had such a massive stronghold, survival seemed to be the way of life. They couldn’t fight back, or the consequences could be so severe, it might literally cost them their lives.

Day after day, the town would pray for salvation from the corruption that ruled, even as some of their closest friends and family came up ‘missing’. The stronghold of the town was held by judges, lawyers, government, and even within the police department. It was rooted so deep, the only thing the town could do was to cry in silence to God for help. Their faith and trust in Him was their only solace, and rested completely in Him for their strength. Their cry did not land on deaf ears – it rarely does when God’s children cry out to Him.

When Sam and Stacey Spencer moved to Pine Crest, the corrupt around town took notice. And when they did not bend to their whims, they struck back. This time, though, they may have met their match. Can the Spencers help free this town from its bonds? Can God show them the strength that they have – and have always had – deep within themselves to persevere?

President Ronald Reagan said it best, “If we ever forget that we are ‘One Nation Under God’, then we will be a nation gone under.”