Running from Drugs

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NAS.

Manny* is a 25-year-old who went from a life as a notorious drug user to a spiritual leader in his village. At a critical point in his life, while he was hiding from the authorities at a spiritual training, God found him and touched his heart through the scriptures that were shared.

As a boy Manny’s parents separated, and he and his three brothers went to live with their Grandmother. Without much parental supervision, Manny started using drugs at the age of nine. Manny’s uncle was also a notorious drug user, and Manny idolized him.

After using drugs for many years, Manny’s uncle had an encounter with Jesus that completely changed his life. He was able to leave drugs without experiencing withdrawal; Jesus completely healed him. The uncle began sharing with people the difference that Jesus had made in his life.

One of Manny’s brothers spent time listening to their uncle and became convinced that Jesus was the one who knew the path to pleasing God. He often shared with Manny what he had learned, but Manny made fun of him. Manny said, “That teaching about Jesus is not true, and I won’t believe you.”

The brother continued to pray for Manny and to be kind to him. Manny continued to steal and to get into trouble because of his addiction. Drug use in Manny’s village had become such a problem that the authorities decided to crack down on users, and Manny was number one on their list of people to arrest. Manny went to his brother and asked to go hear about Jesus. The brother was thrilled, but Manny’s motivation was not to listen but to hide from the police.

At the training Manny listened to his uncle share about Jesus. The Bible verses penetrated his hard heart. He was so touched that he didn’t want to leave. He was hungry to hear more. When he finally did go back to the village, he almost immediately fell into his former lifestyle of drug use and stealing.

Manny’s uncle heard what he was doing and invited him over to his house. He prayed for Manny and invited him to learn to read using the scriptures as a text. While he had prayed at the first training, it was during this second training that God transformed Manny’s life.

One verse in particular impressed Manny. Jesus was saying, “You did not choose Me, I chose you.” Manny thought, “Who am I that God would choose me?” God used learning to read to help Manny understand and grow in his salvation. He continued to read the Bible and to be encouraged by other followers of Jesus.

The change in Manny’s life was so dramatic that everyone in the village took note, and gave approval. Manny continues to be drug free to this day. He likes to work on water projects because it gives him a chance to help his people have clean water and, at the same time, gives him the opportunity to share about the living water of God that washed him clean from all his sin! At this point all three of his brothers have trusted in Jesus, and they are still sharing with their parents.

*Name changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

Manny’s transformed life will continue to amaze people in his village and open them up to hearing about the Gospel that cleansed Manny’s heart.

Literacy training, well drilling, and other community development projects will continue to open up villages among Manny’s people to hear the Gospel.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.