Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose four testimonies from the Addictions and Deliverance Category. Today's witnesses are about how people who were addicted to drugs and, through the intervention of God, their lives were changed. I know people who are really suffering right now because of drugs or addictions, and so I thought these witnesses might give all those affected by addiction some hope and encouragement. God is not done in your situation or your loved ones' situation. If it’s not good, God’s not done! Often, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. When we hear how God worked in their situation, it gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray when you hear this testimony, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles can happen in your situation, also. I pray you know that God is there with you, and if you invite Him into your situation, He can help. I hope you enjoy these testimonies. We have all seen God working in our lives. However, we might not all be aware it is God working in our lives. This is why it is so important we start talking about it more. The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us. If you would be willing to share any experience of how God has worked or is working in your life, please email me at catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or click here. It won’t take up much of your time, and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today. Prayerfully consider sharing. Everyone has a story, and the world needs to hear them. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose four testimonies from the Addictions and Deliverance Category. Today's witnesses are about how people who were addicted to drugs and, through the intervention of God, their lives were changed. I know people who are really suffering right now because of drugs or addictions, and so I thought these witnesses might give all those affected by addiction some hope and encouragement. God is not done in your situation or your loved ones' situation. If it’s not good, God’s not done! Often, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. When we hear how God worked in their situation, it gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray when you hear this testimony, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles can happen in your situation, also. I pray you know that God is there with you, and if you invite Him into your situation, He can help. I hope you enjoy these testimonies.
First we have Jim: The story I have is 100% God!!! In the darkest days of my opiate addiction, I went to jail. Then, I received a three-year sentence. I had never been in trouble as a teenager or a young adult. At one point, I overdosed and if God had not put air in my lungs, I would have died. Nobody was around and nobody would have been there for days. God knows our hearts and I went to Greater Cleveland Teen Challenge and completed that phase. Then, I went on to Cape Girardeau Missouri where I completed an additional ten-month program. Jesus Christ set me free from the bondage of drugs and alcohol! Thank you, Lord, for your sovereignty and for calling me out of the darkness and into Your marvelous light!
Next is Jane: God hears you when you cry out to Him, and I can tell you that it’s true! When I was deep in the trap of addiction to alcohol and cocaine, I would cry out to God in desperation to remove it from me because it was literally killing me. He heard my cries, and in perfect timing, through a car accident, He released me from my addiction! The night of the accident, I wasn’t under the influence of any substances, and the accident was caused by the other driver. We were both injured, but God took away my addiction that night and at that moment! It was a true miracle, and I hope that someone who has these struggles will be encouraged by my story. God is a way-maker, and He will remove your addictions if you keep crying out and believing in the power of Jesus! There have been many more miracles in my life, but I chose this one in hopes of helping a brother or sister in need!
The third one there is a story of a girl whose family did not protect her. I grew up in an abusive home where I was sexually trafficked by my mother to other family members. I told my pastor, my teachers, doctors, and nurses. No one did anything. So I grew to believe that I was unworthy, unlovable, and useless unless the person had an ulterior motive. I became seriously depressed to the point that I was diagnosed with medically-resistant depression. I was suicidal and thought of ways to kill myself daily. I sought counseling but it always failed to benefit me. I attended a depression and anxiety recovery program in November 2018. I had a gun in one hand and pills in the other and told God if He didn’t get me in the program that I was done. I met a man named Paul with a ministry called “Straight 2 the Heart” who taught me about Jesus’s suffering and being tempted with my negative thoughts. In the prayer process, receivers listen for God’s still small voice and encouragement. So often that encouragement has come in Matthew West’s songs as God reminds me of my identity and value. I’ve been sober and off of narcotic prescriptions and hard liquor for just over 2 years. Thank you for letting me share.
Last but not least we have Karryn: I grew up in a good family, but I’d never felt loved. I didn’t know why. I was also a very good liar since I was young, and I never understood why about that either. I have been listening to Matthew West’s music since the first time I went into rehab in 2015. That was the first time I was introduced to Christianity. I was a bad methamphetamine addict. After rehab, I had my ups and downs. I had two beautiful sons, Jaz and Lucas, but I never put them first. In 2019, I went back into rehab, a Christ centered facility. But, I ended up leaving to be with my boyfriend, Dallas, whom I really loved. He was about 700 miles away from me. I got pregnant soon after we reunited, but we continued to use drugs. We lost everything. We were living in a tent, and were hurt both physically and mentally by the people in that scene. This is when I found out that Dallas had been raised in a foster home and his parents were strong in their faith. I began to pray. God opened up a door and we were blessed by St. Vincent’s, a place here in Australia that helps those in need. That’s where our lives changed, and I believe it was our Lord who changed all of this. I was still struggling with how to handle this pregnancy. The only thing keeping me from terminating the pregnancy was the fact that I had just begun to grieve a previous abortion. On my Spotify, randomly the song “Unplanned” began to play. Dallas and I cried and cried. It was a massive turning point for us. We have been clean for months now. We are off all substances. Our new son, Aleksandr, (Alek) has arrived and is a very healthy boy. We are just so grateful to the Lord and to Matthew for his music and especially for the song, “Unplanned.” It was a moment in our lives that we will never forget.
Thank you all so much for being brave and vulnerable and sharing your stories. So many others will receive hope just by hearing your story! I pray God continues to bless you along your journey!