16 Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
- Psalm 66: 16
Gather 'Round!
Was anyone as dysfunctional a human being as I was until they were saved? I was pretty messed up - but in my mind I had it all together. I really didn't think I needed any help and if you were to ask me, I knew everything about . . . well, everything. I had pretty much closed myself off from the rest of the world and I didn't really care about anything or anybody. All I lived for was getting high and if you could help me accomplish that, then I valued you - as long as I could keep getting high. Yup, I was a real piece of work.
God knew exactly how to reach me. One day, just after getting high, the thought of Jesus came into my head (I knew about Jesus from my Catholic upbringing). All I could think about was Jesus and how much He loved me! Now you have to understand that this was very strange because in my experience (up to then), Jesus did not love me. If He did, he would not have allowed all of the abuse that happened in my childhood. He would not have allowed that priest to molest me, nor would He have allowed all of the beatings and emotional abuse that I received. I mean, I just knew that Jesus was not my friend, yet here I was fixated on Him, and because of that I was not able to enjoy getting high at all!
Do you know that from that point forward, every time I got high, Jesus was all I could think about. I mean, it totally ruined getting high for me! One day, after attempting to get high and NOT think about Jesus by playing loud heavy metal rock in my headphones (it didn't work by the way), I was walking down the hall in my house and as I passed a bookcase, my eye caught the title on the spine of a book - The Good News Bible. Don't ask me how it got there, or why on that particular day it caught my eye, but I stopped, and as if in slow-motion I found myself taking it from the shelf. Before I knew it, I had read through the book of Matthew and was well on my way into Mark. I couldn't put it down. Within 2 weeks I was at the altar of a local church giving my life to Jesus. I no longer needed drugs to get through my day and for the first time in my life (that I can recall), I was truly happy.
Jesus found me and came to me in the only place and in the only way I could be reached. He knew just the right approach to reach me, and He knew just the right time. He changed my life forever and I will always serve Him and Praise Him for reaching down to take my life and to call me His own.
What about you? What's your story? When was the last time you shared it? Why not take the time this week to tell someone how Jesus touched your life and called you into His waiting arms? Someone will be blessed and it will take you down memory lane and maybe help you to remember where you were and appreciate the new life you now have - in Him!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You so much for taking the time to find me in the midst of my terrible life. I would surely be dead if You hadn't reached me in just the right way all those years ago. I know I should share my story more often and I thank You for reminding me how important it is for others to hear. You have seen me through so many things and I just want to take this time to praise Your name and to tell You that I am so thankful and I love You so much!
Have a blessed day my Brothers!
-Richard
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