When Jesus saved me I was close to hell
The devil had me in a deep dark well
Yes I found Jesus or did He find me
It doesn’t matter, He set me free
Now the road I’m walkin’ ain’t all up hill
As I try to follow my saviors will
yes I found Jesus or did He find me
It doesn’t matter, He set me free
He guides my footsteps He leads the way
and I will follow come what may
Yes I found Jesus or did He find me
It doesn’t matter, He set me free
I ended up at the Salvation Army Mens Hostel, in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. I had just been released on my own recognizance, from the city police and charged with theft over $1000.00. I had no money (the police seized what I had stolen) and no where else to go, in fact it was the investigating officer who recommended “the Sally”. What a place to be, two years earlier I had been a successful business owner, or at least financially successful. I had a wonderful family, my own home and all of those things that reflect the “GOOD LIFE”. What I did not have, was any control over my consumption of alcohol, and a contempt for anything or anybody who spouted anything about God, especially those pushy Born Again Christian types.
The third night at “The Sally”, was the beginning of the rest of my life. I had been talking to one of the Rehab counselors and was in the process of deciding if I would enter the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Program that was offered. I knew that it would at least help me in court.
As I lay on the bunk in the merger room that had been provided me, surrounded by the noise and confusion that is normal in such a situation, (if you have been there you know, if not I can not explain it), I said aloud and with absolutely no reverence “JESUS CHRIST, I WISH I COULD FIND SOME PEACE AND QUIET.” That moment, a voice, as clear as anything I have ever heard, told me I could find all of the peace I would ever need in the Bible that was on the desk beside me. I started to read, in my mind today, it is some what unclear, I think that I started at the beginning of Mathew, but I do know that there were words and phrases literally flying off the pages, and I understood that God loved me.
The Holy Spirit talked to me in a way that has not happened since.
I was told exactly what I had to do:
- 1) Trust in the Lord
2) Enter the Rehab program and get my body and mind back in shape
3) Trust in the Lord
I was also told that this was my last chance, that my next suicide attempt would be successful, (yes I had tried that more than once too). That night, on my knees I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus into my heart as Lord and Savior.
Many things have happened in the last four years and my life is full of peace and serenity. There is not time nor reason to go into all of the following details, but this is where I am know:
- –My wife and I reconciled one day before our divorce was to be filed
–I am a respected and active member of my church
–I have a music ministry of hope that I take to the inner city centers
–I have a decent job with a boss that allows me time to pursue my ministry
–I will graduate soon, with an Addictions Studies Certificate
–from the University Of Alberta
–I am a volunteer counsllor at “The Sally”
–I am a Child Of God!!!
–I have had no compulsion to drink since the day Jesus Found Me.
I have seen Hell and never want to be there again!!
Thank you Lord, for the life you have given me.
Love you all
In Christ
Rodney H