My friend’s life was falling apart. We had only been friends for a few months, but our friendship had quickly developed a level of trust that would let us be very open and transparent with each other. We worked together and his job was not the issue or in jeopardy. It might have been the one stable spot in his life.
The bond between he and his wife was shaky. He was headstrong and wanted her to change. Her life was so meaningless that she drank too much and smoked too much. Both of those issues drove my friend crazy. Pot-smoking was no big deal to them, and they often sought escape and refuge in it. But that really didn’t solve the issues between them.
They separated. She stayed in their apartment and he lived in his car. One day, as he was driving down the freeway, his hood unlatched and slammed back over his windshield. It was bent so badly that he couldn’t return it to its normal position, so he tore it off and left it beside the road.
A few days later, he pulled up in front of a friend’s apartment and opened the car door without looking first and another car hit his door and sent it flying. You can imagine what a sight his car was now. No hood, no drivers-side door while driving down the freeway to work. Like I said, his life was coming unglued. Finally, my friend’s separation led to infidelity, and things went from bad to absolutely horrible.
All this time, I just kept quietly witnessing to him in various small ways. I would just throw little jabs of scripture at him at fitting and appropriate moments. He liked the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” He would often ask me questions about some of the songs and the scenes in the musical. I was always ready and happy to answer his questions.
My friend played guitar very well and sang some. He played in bars on weekends. He complained about the atmosphere and the clientele in the bars. So, I invited him to a Christian Coffee House, where he could play and sing in a different atmosphere.
A few weeks later, I invited him and his wife to our church for some evangelical services. At that time, he and his wife made a commitment of their lives to the Lord. Everything changed. They were healed and restored in their relationship. They soon discovered a life of serving their new found Lord.
My friend’s life was in shambles. In Christ, he found the way to get it fixed. He and his wife went on be servants of the Lord – working in many churches over the years.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’” (Matthew 11:28 NLT). My friend was carrying a heavy burden – everything was going wrong in his life. However, when he turned his life over to Jesus, all those things got straightened out. Very quickly, he realized the truth of the rest of what Jesus said at that time: “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Verse 29).
We need to learn that that truth is true for all the rest of us as well!
– Just a Thought Dale Fillmore is lead pastor at New Day Church.
