I would like to take a few moments to share with you how the Lord Jesus Christ saved me from my sinful nature and my weaknesses.
I grew up in a Christian home and always had all the love and support from my parents, who are very just and influential believers. Their commitment to me did not keep me from getting up to mischief. Many of the people in my life do not know this about me. At the age of fourteen, I had already become a regular user of cannabis. I use to attend the parties often and often drank alcohol despite my age and that against my parent’s wishes. I would tell them I was going to a friends house and that’s when we would get up to mischief.
This behavior continued for about two years until my parents found out about the things I would get up to. They immediately sought out help for me from a church group that worked with cases such as mine.
It is safe to say at the age of sixteen, I had reached a point where I wasn’t concerned with the church or what they had to offer. I was having to much fun and didn’t see it necessary to change anything in my life. For a while, I did make an effort to keep from miss behaving because I loved my parents and didn’t want to hurt them.
After leaving school, I had turned eighteen, and I moved to Durban to chase my dream career. Once again, I found myself in a difficult position, as there were a lot of negative influences around me. I was finally an adult and living alone, so I felt I was able to make my own decisions.
What happened next changed my life forever. But first, I had to find Jesus.
For no apparent reason, I started getting random nerve pains throughout my whole body. This pain was a kind that I had never experienced before. Imagine living with broken bones in your arm or leg but with this level of pain throughout your entire body that appears at random times. Some times the pain would remain for days on end.
Once the pain got me under I went to consulted my doctor who did not hesitate to refer me directly to a neurologist in Johannesburg, where I spent about five months trying to figure out what the problem with me was. Many tests had were conducted on me, and none of the doctors were able to commit to a sound diagnosis.
The various doctors recommended a variety of treatments, but nothing seemed to provide the help that I needed. The doctors suspected it to be Multiple Sclerosis or Fibromyalgia but were not able to provide me with direct or clear answers to my questions.
At this time, I decided to take things into my own hands and asked a family doctor of he could give me medication that would suppress nerve pain. He gave me a prescription for Lyrica. It’s a medication that is typically used to slow down the body’s pain receptors. This treatment gave me some relief and reduced the pain to bare-able levels. Although the medication helped me, I was always aware of my pain.
As time went on, I had to increase my doses because it was becoming less effective as my body grew immune to it. I had to change my strategy and started using medical cannabis oil. This change to my treatment helped a lot but not enough to get me through each day, so I continued to use it along with the Lyrica tablets.
Little did I know what I got myself in to.
This experience is still a very personal thing to me today. I found myself addicted to marijuana again (don’t let anyone tell you its not an addictive substance). My cravings had turned me in to a daily user. Because I was making use of “medical cannabis” I was convinced I was in a good place and felt that it was okay to use. Unfortunately, my use also went into abuse, and I was a substantial user for a while. I found myself using it for depression and pain at the same time while I was not fully aware of what it was doing to me on a spiritual level.
One day someone at work came up to me, and we started talking about The second coming of Jesus Christ, and I thought it was strange because I recall him saying that he doesn’t believe. Never the less that conversation scared me, and I started doing some research since I was telling everyone that I’m a Christian, even though I didn’t act like it. That is where my real journey with Christ began.
I was terrified that I would be condemned to hell because of my life choices. God had a different plan for my life, and I’m eternally grateful for that because if it weren’t for his love and grace, I wouldn’t be here today. I started reading the Bible and started reaching out to God in prayer, but I felt like I didn’t understand everything that was going on in my life even though I tried.
It was at this point that I met the leader of SMDN, and till this day I believe God sent him to help me understand Gods grace, his love, his rule as well as why we should live for Him. After many meetings and discussions around Gods word and many different things about God and Jesus, my internal battle truly began. I found that my trust in the everlasting God, Jesus Christ started growing more and more every day. I began to repent of my sins, and my addiction came to an end, even though it took some time, but thankfully Gods grace is bigger than my biggest problems.
I still had a lot of physical pain and was still using Lyrica as a pain killer, but emotionally I had become a much more robust a person in Christ. A while later, I woke up and started my day by first taking my medications as usual, but the Holy Spirit told me to trust in the Lord. I took it anyway because I didn’t want to be in pain the whole day, and I was petrified to put my trust in Him with an “important” matter like this.
I kept up with this treatment for about two weeks, and even though the medication helped me, it didn’t take the real problem away. The day came when I woke up and took the capsule in my hand and was about to take it when I just decided to pray and let the Holy Spirit guide me through the prayer. I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to help me throughout the day and I told him that I put my trust in him. He came through and performed a miracle in my life as I’ve never witnessed before.
My pain is less now than it was ever before, I don’t need to use any medication at all, and I feel like life has meaning again. I am thankful to be saved from myself and my sins through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior who loves us so much that he died on the cross, knowing you might never love him. I will always pray and worship God for what He has done for me in my life, and for what He still will do.
As a young Christian, I would like to encourage everyone that face problems that seem too big for them to go to Jesus Christ and repent your sins and ask for help. He will come through for you and save you from everything that He seems fit. Sometimes you will go through trials in life. Those are the times to pray like never before. I can testify that your faith till growing further than ever before.
For me being a Christian doesn’t mean life gets easier; it means you will find the strength and courage you need from Him who gives life to those that love and live for Him. Use your talents to glorify God and his kingdom. Love him above all else and love the people around you as you would love yourself. Forgive yourself and others, and forget about the past. Be grateful for your present and future.
I know God loves me even though I fall short of his glory every day. I pray for every person reading this to find peace in the promises of our glorious God, Lord and savior Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit guide you through life and in prayer.
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at SMDN for the love and support throughout my journey. I still have a lot to learn about God’s plan is for my life and plan to stay with SMDN for the help and guidance they offer. Hebrews 1:14 “are not all angels ministering spirits sent to server those who will inherit salvation.”