"He
changes a wilderness into a pool of water...
...and a dry land into springs of
water." (Psalm 107:35)
A
friend of mine, who we will call "John", I met him about 7 or 8
months ago at the gym. John is a business owner here in Bali, very confident,
very type-A, and definitely the life of the party. We talked for a while
whenever we saw each other, and he would typically open up to me about his
current struggles. I had not seen John in a couple months though... until this
morning.
John walked
into the gym and his whole body was visibly shaking. I noticed his face was
void of any color and looked very sickly when he approached me. I asked him if
he was ok and he said "I was hoping you'd be here. Can we talk?" I
agreed and we went into another room.
He could
hardly sit down on his own as he told me that he went on a 9 day drinking
binge, eating no food and only consuming liquor. However, today was day 2 of no
alcohol. His body was in full detox mode and seemed to almost be shutting down.
He even threw up on himself a little bit during our conversation. (For those
that don't know, alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs to detox from). I
asked why he came to the gym if he could barely stand and he said "I don't
know, but I was praying that you would be here." (He is not a man of
faith) "I should probably be in the hospital or in treatment or
something." One very interesting thing is that I NEVER go to the gym on
Thursdays and I also never go during the time frame that I did this morning. I
only went during that time because our language school was cut short, and I
couldn't make it to the gym yesterday.
After talking
for a long time about some very deeply-rooted issues he was working through, he
asked "What do I do, Matt?" I shared Maddie and my story with Him and
then shared about surrender. I shared about how surrender is so
counter-cultural, especially to us men, because the thought of losing control
seems like a sign of weakness to us. However it is within our weakness and
surrender that God displays His strength. I then tied it in to the gospel and
shared about how Jesus died, not only for us to go to heaven but also for this
very addiction and bondage he's living under. I asked him, "John, are you
ready to surrender your life to Jesus?" He said he was ready.
After I asked
him to repeat after me, I started simply with just "Jesus...". There
was silence for several seconds without him saying anything, so I looked up and
I saw him start to weep. He mentioned that just saying the name Jesus made him
want to cry. We continued praying together, then I prayed for him to receive
Holy Spirit and also asked that HS would strengthen him. John received Jesus
this morning and was touched by His Holy Spirit. He even found himself strong
enough to work out afterward!
God has and
always will be in a mad pursuit of his people, even when they are in VERY low
places. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." He is in
the business of reconciling people to himself, through his Son, Jesus. I want
to encourage you all to be aware. Every conversation you have is full of
intention and purpose if you're walking by the Spirit. There are opportunities
around every corner for the love of God to be revealed, and He wants to partner
with YOU. Believe it. Receive it.
We love you all and eagerly await the day
when we can see you face-to-face again.
Grace and Peace,
The Kirk family
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