I Didn’t Choose God, God Chose Me

  

 

    This is
probably the hardest story I will ever have to write: My Testimony. I grew up
in the church from the time I was old enough to crawl. I was baptized as an
infant, went through confirmation when I was twelve, and gave my heart to Jesus
when I was 16. I loved everything about the life that I lived when I was living
for Jesus and not myself. I could do anything I put my mind to and had a
sincere joy about it. However it was short lived. I began to fall into patterns
of selfishness. In doing so I fell into Satan’s trap of temptations and sin.
Soon after I only attended church because my parents told me I had to. I lived
a life that was far from what God wanted for me. I was the type that if asked,
“Are you a Christian?” I would say yes based on the fact that I go to
church. How foolish I had become!

   

   I went
through 7 long years of suffering; fooling myself that I didn’t need to live a
life for Christ. I knew that He was my savior, but I never made Him the Lord of
my life. I dated a girl that I was desperately in love with for 4 amazing years
and one lonesome day it all came to an abrupt end. I went through years of
partying, drinking, drugs, lust, and lies just trying to fill that void; I
found myself miserable. I didn’t like who I had become. I was depressed. I was
empty inside. I got to a point where I actually considered suicide. Twice. I
was to the point of putting a gun to my head and saying goodbye to this world.
It was so hard for me to live in pain and regret because I felt I couldn’t live
without her. I don’t know exactly what kept me from doing it, but I feel it had
to be God because there was actually something that was put into my mind that
made me hold on to my life. It was my family. It was the thought of what my
death would do to them. It was the fear of going to hell for killing myself. I
was able to come out of that rut of depression but I continued to live with emptiness
for at least another year.

  

   Then one
crazy night  at the bar led to an
altercation with a friend, cops showing up and writing both of us citations,
and me laying on a couch for two days feeling like I was in a car wreck. That
immediately set an alarm off with my family. A couple weeks later my sister
asked me if I would go on a weekend retreat called Chrysalis Journey. Just
seeing the look on her face told me that I shouldn’t say no. So I went on the 3
day retreat out at Camp Tygart.

  

   During the
retreat we put all our focus on God and how much He loves us. There was
literally no distractions just people constantly praising the Lord and telling
you how much God loves you and forgives you. We were told all you have to do is
accept Him into your life and He will change you from the inside out. On our
second night there I asked God to come into my life and replace the old me and
make me new. I could feel a change starting immediately. Jesus took my heart of
stone and turned it into a heart of flesh. When I got back home I was
absolutely on fire for Jesus. I cried for hours because of the level of joy that
had been brought into my heart and I realized just how wretched I had been.

  

   In 3 days
God changed me from a smoking, drinking, lusting, cursing, lying, stealing, and
cheating person; into a man of God! I no longer had the urges to smoke or drink
or want to hang out with friends that would bring me down and away from Christ,
because I didn’t want to lose that feeling. I began to get myself involved more
in the church and bible study groups. Within weeks I went on my first mission
trip. Since then all I have wanted to do is serve others and spread the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. 

 

 

                Now it’s Quite
Simple: “He died for us; so I live for HIM”