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By Karl Clauson, Moody Radio morning show host
After struggling as a young adult with alcohol and drug abuse, Karl trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior at age 23 in the 1980s. The story Karl shares below, taken from his book The 7 Resolutions, occurred three weeks after he placed his faith in Christ.
I had never met the man who sat across from me. He stretched out to hand me the clear glass pipe freshly loaded with crystal methamphetamine. I took a hit, and in a moment, the drug’s rush was followed quickly by crushing condemnation.
How God pulled off what happened next, I’ll never fully understand. He gave me the strength to bolt from that place. As I ran through the room, I didn’t know if I’d get tackled or shot; I just had to get out of there. When I crashed through the front door, I was running for my safety, but really I was trying to outrun my shame.
That two-mile stretch of road I covered was a blur. God was carrying me, but Satan talked my ear off, telling me I was unredeemable and deserved to die. Opening the front door to the place I was staying, I shuffled quietly to my bedroom, falling to my knees. The shame blanketed me.
This shameful night happened three weeks after the light of Jesus had shined into the darkness of my soul and saved my life. I was only 23, but in a moment, God had changed me. I had finally experienced what it meant to be born all over again. My new life was breathtaking. But there I was, a three-week-old failed follower of Jesus. Evil was taunting me with this thought: “You might even be a child of God, but some of your battles just can’t be won.”
But, over three decades later, I can tell you with complete confidence that, because of the gospel, you can win your biggest battles. It’s about believing God’s promises and resolving to follow His plan for embracing them. It’s about overcoming what is defeating you. It means beating addictions, altering destructive behaviors, and killing bad habits that you’ve grown accustomed to or possibly written off as unwinnable.
If you have truly believed that Jesus both died for your sins and came up out of the grave and lives today, and if you have turned around 180 degrees to follow Him, you already know the path you walk has plenty of challenges. But the promises and extravagant abundance of life in Christ are inestimable.