Scandalous Grace: Three Stories
Before long, causal use and abuse of drugs and alcohol turned into a full-blown addiction. Hard liquor, marijuana, gasoline, and glue were his go-to's to get high. For 15 years, this was his life — a constant fight to stay high.
One day, Theodore sat in a large house, completely empty except for one bed. On one side of the bed was all the marijuana he could want. On the other side of the bed was a bottle of glue good for sniffing. In his hand was a bottle of liquor.
Drunk, high and alone he sat pondering the last 15 years of hell that his life had turned into.
Drunk, high and alone he heard a voice tell him that he was created for more than the cheap thrills of substance abuse.
Drunk, high and alone he stammered into a church where he heard that God loved him and desired a relationship with him.
Drunk, high and no longer alone, he turned his life over to Christ on that day.
The next 15 days were the hardest days of his life. Detox. Withdrawals. Cold sweats. Migraines. Every passing second the devil was screaming at him, reminding him where his drugs and alcohol were, making him keenly aware that the pain, the headaches, and misery could all disappear with one sip, one drag, or one sniff. But he also heard God whispering to him, "I am better. I am worth this. I have plans for you." Spiritual warfare at its toughest.
Theodore persevered. God was enough. The addictions that plagued him for so long had been crushed by Christ.
Theodore has since attended seminary and served as a missionary, high in the mountains of Honduras. He told me of the next-to-impossible living conditions in those mountains — but this was not the first time he had nothing but God to depend on. I asked him if, despite the living conditions and the spiritual depravity, God was enough. His face twisted as if surprised that I would ask such a dumb question.
"Absolutely," he answered.
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