Sunday, February 16, 2014

When W.C. remembers the darkest night of his life, he knows, “I didn’t have to get religion to come to God. He came to the bottom of the pit where I was.”

In 2006, W.C. decided to take his life.  The pain from years of drug addiction was too great. He recalls, “I knew I wanted to quit, but when I knew I wasn’t able to, it made me more depressed and despondent.”

But before he finalized his plan, he remembered something from a Celebrate Recovery (Christian addiction recovery) session.

“I heard that God loves me unconditionally, that no matter how great the stain of my sin, he could wash me clean. And that he cares about me.”

So laying down his weapon, he demanded, “God, if you are out there, I need to know right now.”

And he waited.

Within 15 minutes, a friend from the drug scene was at the door explaining that she knew W.C. was about to take his life.  She had come to stop him.  Fifteen minutes later, a friend from work came to check on him.  A customer had said that someone should check on W.C. right away.  Together, they made it through the night.

The next day, W.C. talked truthfully to his employer about his addiction.  While W.C. waited to be fired and worried for his future, his employer replied, “How can I help?” Then they held hands and prayed.

The next Friday W.C. went back to Celebrate Recovery and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord.  Now he faithfully attends church and ministers at Celebrate Recovery.

It was a long, difficult journey, but W.C. knows he was saved by persistent prayer.

“Those prayers that take years to answer are still worth praying.  I think I may be proof of that.”