The call to ministry was a call that God placed on my heart pretty quickly after placing my life in his hands at the age of 17. At that point in my life, I would have been considered a pretty good kid by society’s standards. I played football throughout middle school and high school, maintained a GPA above 3.7, and had a great set of friends who showed me God’s love long before I knew it myself.
When I accepted Christ into my heart, I hit the ground running, leading a youth small group on Sunday mornings and going to every church function that I was able to attend. I fit the mold of a “good Christian” by all means. I knew that God had me there, volunteering with the youth at my church, surrounded by great people that were constantly pouring into me and helping build me into a better man. But, despite all that, I let my guard down about three years in, and I fell into the worldly ways of the college lifestyle. Earthly desires filled my mind, which led to a struggle with alcohol for about a year and half, where my relationship with God had become pretty much non-existent. I had moved away for school and was able to hide my struggles from those who I knew would correct me if they ever found out, and I didn’t want that at all. God prevailed in July 2010 and brought this struggle to light, and in the months that followed, I was shown more love and support than I could have ever imagined.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
— Romans 8:1
With the gift of God’s grace, we as believers no longer have to feel the condemnation that keeps us running back to our sins. God has given us the gift of being bigger than even our largest sin, that sin that we try to keep hidden from everyone, that only God knows about. When God came calling for me to step into full-time ministry here at c|Life, all of my past sins and struggles rushed back into my mind, weighing me down to try and make me believe that I could not be good enough to serve the Bride of Christ. The awesome thing about God is that he’s not just God over all the good things in our lives, but he’s the God of the worst things that we keep hidden in the deepest, darkest places.
Run to him with your struggles, knowing that he will wipe the slate clean when you confess your sins to him.