It was my senior year in high school. My father had recently committed suicide. I was coping by consuming violent video games, pornography, and even dabbling in drugs and witchcraft. Abuse from my past was a burden I constantly carried.
I was raised in a home that professed Christianity. I knew that God was real and powerful, but why was I not feeling His power in these times of darkness? I grabbed my Bible and headed outside. Making my way to a large oak tree that had fallen, I began to read the book of Job. Surely I could relate to this guy!
I came to verse 21: “ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ ” (NKJV). That is when I saw a black snake poking its head out from under the log. I paused. Was Satan challenging these words? I read the passage again. As I whispered the name of the Lord, the snake came within three feet of me and stopped, as if it were confronting me. I read the verse once more with confidence, and with a loud hiss, the snake fled back under the log. It may sound strange, but this experience opened my mind to the power of God’s Word.
Two years later, desiring a fresh start, I left to serve for a year as a student missionary in the Philippines. But I found myself bound in sin and addiction. One day, I lay on a wet floor covered in sand and mud. A typhoon was raging. Gripped by sexual sin, I cried out, “Please, Lord, take these addictions away.” By God’s grace, I have been free from the slavery of pornography since that time. The flesh still calls out to me, but I thank our Savior that His Spirit is working in me more each day.
Are you struggling with sin? If you call on Him, He will hear and rescue you. He taught me that the same Word that brought the world into existence is found in the promises of Scripture. Read, believe, and claim it. It is the very essence of power and provides freeing love.
—Seth Hill is coordinator for data strategy and millennial marketing, Adventist Review, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
