God Has Bigger Plan for Drug Addict

“I realize I'm dying. I'm dying, this is where it ends. And I recognize that there's no way to control this, at this point. And I have probably limited moments left before I'm going to pass out,” Jeff says.

Jeff trained in martial arts from age 4, and by age 16, he was a national competitor and owned his own karate school.

“I was on a national karate team. I was competing in-in world championships, international championships, national championships. That was my whole life.”

One night after teaching karate he flipped through the TV channels and heard Billy Graham preach the Gospel.

“Wasn't raised in a Christian home and uh wasn't raised going to church under the hearing of the gospel. I remember that something had completely changed in my mind in terms of how I thought about Jesus and the Bible. And I immediately became the person that was interested in reading the Bible and telling people about Jesus.”

Although he professed faith in Jesus, Jeff led a double life.  

“There was sort of two sides to me. There was the Jeff that loved to read the Bible, talk about Jesus, but then there was the Jeff who was the national competitor and would, you know, um be in relationships with girls outside of marriage. And I think if you would've seen me on a Friday or Saturday night, many times, you wouldn't have known that I was a Christian because I was, you know, living with one foot in-in the Christian worldview, one foot in the world.”  

Jeff married his high school girlfriend. Despite her wishes, he continued to go to clubs and party on the weekends. One night he took his first drug – ecstasy.

“My life devolved into a pursuit of just drugs and alcohol. And, I had a very young wife and uh a young son that I would abandon. I would tell her I was going out to work and I would disappear for a day, maybe two days at a time. I would do ecstasy, cocaine, alcohol, pills, what-whatever was available. She didn't discover to the very end of the year that I was using because I lied. I lied. I lied a lot.”

Despite his drug addiction, Jeff became a successful financial planner, giving him money to feed his drug habit. One night he took so much ecstasy his heart started racing wildly and his body was overheating, he knew he was going to die.

“It was the one moment in that year where there was some clarity about who I was and what was happening. And I remember that I said to God, I said, ‘Please don’t kill me yet, let me come out of this. Like bring me out of this, but don't kill me please. And I know you should. Everything I've done, I know that you would be right to allow me to go.’ I said, ‘But please not yet.’ And then all of a sudden – instantly done. My heart went right back to normal. My - everything was like - it was - it was like I snapped completely out of the most horrible physical experience in my life where I'm about to die, and instantly like it never happened.”

After his plea to God, Jeff still did not change his ways.

“I was just a rebel. And I remember that I was right back at it again the next weekend. And it took, really, the Lord actually very shortly after that, destroying my life for me, which I'm so grateful for. In one day I woke up to my car being repossessed, my electric being shut off, my water being shut off, an eviction notice on my door. And the people I was working for actually fired everybody on their staff and there was no paycheck. And so now I have is I'm sitting in my apartment with my wife, my one year old and my baby now, and it's silent. And I remember all that I had in that moment was to listen to God.”

Jeff says God used that silence to speak to his heart, and he finally listened.

“I remember that I went into my closet and I just remember being completely broken. Like I saw myself for who I was, just a mess, a rebel, a mess, a liar, an idolater. And I don't remember any prayer that I prayed, except it was probably just desperation. It was like, ‘Please save me. Save me.’ And I remember saying to - I remember saying, ‘You're the boss. You tell - you tell me what to do. Save me from my sin and you tell me what to do.’ And that is where my life really began to transform was-was there and when I - when I turned to Christ as savior and Lord of-of my life.”

Jeff says God helped him turn from his old ways and freed him from drugs.

“I would have kept going in myself until I was dead in the dirt, there's no question about that. The consequences weren't the thing. It was what God did to change my heart. That's why I'm not using ecstasy today. And that's why I'm not getting drunk today. That's why, cause my passions were totally transformed. And that's something – not something I did.”

Today, Jeff and his wife have been married over 20 years and have 5 children. Jeff worked as the chaplain at a drug treatment facility, that went on to become Apologia Church in Phoenix, AZ. He is passionate about sharing the gospel and reaching those who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.

“It's good news that I get God. Right? It's good news that He, He has the power to save me from my sins. It's good news that I have peace with God. It's good news that I have His presence. It's good news that He's fulfilled all His promises. See, the glory of the gospel is not about me, it's about God. And the glory of the gospel is you get God. God is the good news. I get Him. And that is not only who Jesus is to me, but also that is what I'm very thankful for.”