Episode 77: God Fights For Us: Christian Addiction Recovery Testimony

Key Verse

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 14:14

Christian Addiction Recovery Testimony: God Rescued Me From Addiction and Despair

What happens when a person reaches the point where they believe there is no way out? Can God still reach someone after years of addiction, repeated failures, broken relationships, and deep despair?

Michael’s story is a powerful Christian addiction recovery testimony about God’s ability to rescue, redeem, and transform a life. In this episode of the Abundant Life Podcast, Michael joins Ben and Sasso to share how God met him at one of the darkest points of his life and began leading him toward freedom, sobriety, reconciliation, and a new purpose.

His story isn’t presented as a formula for recovery. It is a testimony of God’s grace and faithfulness—and a reminder that God can work in ways we cannot anticipate.

From Addiction and Despair to Hope

Michael describes battling drug addiction for nearly 15 years. Over that time, he tried numerous approaches to treatment and recovery, including inpatient and outpatient programs, residential treatment, medication, and other attempts to break free.

Nothing seemed to provide lasting freedom.

Eventually, Michael reached a point of profound hopelessness. He didn’t know how to live the life he believed other people lived, but he also didn’t want to continue living the way he was. His addiction had taken him to a place where death seemed like the only remaining option.

But that wasn’t the end of his story.

Michael describes a series of events that eventually led him away from the situation he was in and toward help. He recounts what he now understands as the Holy Spirit directing him, including leaving a trailer, walking through freezing weather, encountering a church, receiving a ride from strangers, being prayed over, calling his mother, and eventually making his way back to Arizona.

Along the way, people he barely knew showed him kindness.

His mother continued praying for him.

And eventually, he entered treatment.

Michael’s sobriety date is December 14, 2020. He describes the change as more than simply learning how to stop using drugs. He believes God removed the desire for drugs and began replacing it with a desire to follow Him.

“The Lord Will Fight for You”

The primary Bible passage discussed in the episode is Exodus 14:14:

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The verse provides a fitting framework for Michael’s testimony.

In Exodus 14, Israel was trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. They could not see a way forward. Moses told them to stand firm and watch what the Lord would do.

Michael’s story carries a similar theme—not because his circumstances were identical to Israel’s, but because he reached a place where his own efforts could not rescue him.

He had tried to do things his own way. Eventually, he came to recognize his need for God.

The episode also connects this idea to Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. Michael describes himself as feeling like that lost sheep: not someone who successfully found his way back, but someone who was pursued and rescued.

That picture points to an important biblical truth. God is a Redeemer who seeks the lost and rejoices when the lost are brought home.

Knowing the Bible vs. Knowing Christ

One of the most powerful statements in Michael’s testimony is his description of growing up around Christianity.

He knew the Bible.

He attended church, vacation Bible school, and Bible studies. He could quote Scripture and point other people toward biblical answers.

But he says he didn’t know the Author.

That distinction is important for both believers and seekers.

Christianity is not merely knowing information about Jesus. The gospel calls us to faith in Jesus Christ and a reconciled relationship with God through Him.

Michael describes his eventual transformation as becoming a new creation. The conversation connects his testimony to 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature…”

His circumstances didn’t become perfect overnight. His testimony includes difficult relationships, business pressures, disappointment, loss, and other painful experiences.

The difference was that he no longer believed he had to carry those things alone.

A New Life With a New Purpose

Michael’s recovery story didn’t end with sobriety.

Today, he describes using his businesses and relationships as opportunities to serve others. He operates a car dealership and mechanic shop and is connected with prison ministry. He also operates a sober-living ministry.

The purpose of these endeavors, as he describes it, goes beyond making money or building a business.

He wants his life to be used by God.

His testimony illustrates an important aspect of Christian recovery: freedom is not simply about escaping an old life. It is also about learning how to live a new one.

Michael talks about sharing his testimony, praying with others, serving people, encouraging employees, and helping people who are walking through their own struggles.

The man who once felt that his life had no purpose now talks about being excited to see what God will do next.

Reconciliation and Restoration

Another important part of Michael’s story is his relationship with his father.

After years of separation, Michael felt convicted to reach out and begin making things right. He describes sitting down with his father, sharing honestly about his childhood, and seeing emotional walls begin to come down.

This wasn’t about proving that he had changed.

It was about obedience, humility, love, and opening a door.

His story demonstrates that Christian transformation can affect more than our relationship with God. It can begin changing how we relate to the people around us.

That doesn’t mean every broken relationship will immediately be restored. But believers are called to walk in humility, forgiveness, love, and obedience to God’s Word.

What Can We Learn From Michael’s Story?

A Christian addiction recovery testimony should never replace professional help, biblical discipleship, or wise Christian community. But a testimony can remind us that addiction and brokenness do not have to be the final chapter.

Michael’s story points us back to God.

Key Takeaways

• God can meet us in places of profound brokenness.
• Our past does not limit God’s ability to redeem our lives.
• Knowing about the Bible is different from personally knowing Christ.
• God cares about the one who is lost.
• A transformed life should increasingly point others toward Jesus.
• Following Christ does not eliminate every hardship, but it gives us somewhere to take our burdens.
• God can use a redeemed life to serve and encourage others.
• Our future is safest in God’s hands rather than in our own plans.

The Challenge

Stop trying to carry what you were never meant to carry alone, and bring your brokenness, struggles, and future to Jesus.

Resources

The following resources and ministries are mentioned in the episode:

• Stay in the Fight — Sasso Mendez’s weekday devotional focused on applying Scripture to everyday life.
• Lamp Light Ministries — Biblical counseling and workshops focused on helping people pursue faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.
• Purpose Healing Center — The treatment center Michael credits as an important part of his recovery journey.
• Alongside Ministries — A prison ministry Michael’s business is connected with.