He Stayed Free for 13 Years After Addiction Here’s How He Did It

Introduction: Personal Journey with Christ

Listen, it's not Jesus didn't do it, you know what I mean? And so if we look at how do we put on Christ and put on things, you have to read the word and see where it shows. This is how he walked. This is what he did. He said, follow him. I've got to follow that, not what I used to do and how I used to do it.

And, well, man, I just want to, Rob, thanks so much for taking time to sit down and chat again. We've been on a few calls, man, and we did the live video with you being Rob, and that was such a powerful conversation a lot back. And then before you were on the audio-only podcast, and now, man, it's so cool how God has allowed our relationship to grow over the years, like just coming up and speaking at Teen Challenge one time. And then over all those years staying connected.

Why don't you introduce yourself maybe to those who are going to listen in that aren't familiar, don't know you? And then we'll go into our topic and our conversation for the day. But thanks for coming on.

Rob's Background: A Life Transformed

Yeah, man. So my name is Rob Reynolds. Reasoning from Martin's Bird restaurant in here wound up living there most of my life until probably about 2007 when I got moved to Huttonsville, West Virginia, where I did some prison time. But I was a 17-year drug addict, alcoholic, bipolar, manic depressive, paranoid schizophrenic. They said borderline; I don't know. A lot of that, I think, was drug-induced.

There definitely was a lot of psychosis going on with my drug use. There were times, you know, six, seven months that I would just be gone and don’t remember anything. I mean, there are even times my daughter's 29 now, and she'll bring up things, and there are years of stuff I don't remember from my drug addiction. And so I know the mental illness played a big part.

I was on probably for 10 years. I think I was on Cerequeville, wound up at the end, 500 milligrams twice a day, which is a huge amount to be on. And so I just had a whole life. My parents were addicts, no, alcoholics, really just thought that was all I was ever going to be. There wasn't any hope for anything else.

Early Influences: Seeds of Faith

I had one grandmother that prayed. I never saw her go to church, but she would say she prayed, and every meal we prayed. So that was about the only real kind of encounter or relationship that I had with church or God was her praying. And then I remember, I think I was five. I had my grandmother take me, one other grandmother take me to a Bible school. She never went to church either. She took me to a Bible school, I think just to get me out of the house for the summer.

Yeah, and I heard David and Goliath. So I did hear that, all right. But other than that, well, I got married. A story didn’t keep you out of prison? It did not. No, it was a good story. And I thought it was really cool. But I just thought it was a story, you know what I mean? So I always did remember that. It's the only thing I remember from childhood.

Struggles and the Path to Recovery

Then I got in my drug addiction and started getting into criminal activity and all that. After I got married, my wife that I was married to at the time, I was married for 10 years. Her mom and dad were Christians, and they would take us to church on Christmas and Easter. We had to go to the editorial Christian thing.

And I would go, and I told you just before, but I said in their haunt drunk, and I know I probably smelled and looked horrible. I was thrown out, and everybody just kind of let me sit in the corner, and nobody talked to me. No bag definitely didn't share the gospel with me. And then I had an experience. After I got clean one time, I thought I would go do plumbing and work with her uncle who was a Sunday school teacher and a deacon in a church. I thought, well, maybe this is a direction I should go.

Finding Faith in Tough Times

Then he cussed me out every day and treated me worse, and then he seconded a boss that ever treated me. So I'm like, yep, don't want a Christian life. So I continued just being a drug addict until I wound up in prison in 2004. I got in and out back then. I think it was 2000 to 2004. I was in and out a lot. I did 52 weekends in a row one year. But then 2004 to 2007, I just went on like a three-year spiral.

I was that addict that always said I wouldn't do heroin; I wouldn't shoot a needle anyway. And I wouldn’t smoke crack. And up in the 2004, I didn't do those two things. And then 2004, I just really didn’t care. I wanted to die. I had a bunch of back surgeries. I had hooked on OxyContin, and I just went downhill, started getting evicted everywhere, and just really started stealing a lot of Robin's stores.

The Moment of Transformation

In 2007, I got convicted of three robberies. One was a sheet store, one was a bar, and then one was a man outside a store. And that got me a 10 flat prison sentence for me. I went to Huttonsville, did all together between the regional and Huttonsville. It was two years to get to Huttonsville waiting, and then about two and a half years at Huttonsville.

I had two people there that really, and you've met more, two people there that really shared a gospel with me. I was trying; my daughter was the last one I'd ever talked to in my oldest one. She's 29 now; she was like 12 when I went to prison, so I bet she was probably 14ish. She wrote me a letter and said she was done with me and didn't want to talk to me anymore.

Seeking Help and Finding Hope

At that moment, I finally decided, all right, I got to do something; my way's not working. I remember when I was a kid, my dad was going like saying I wouldn't be like my dad, and I didn't want to be a drug addict. I just kind of had this realization that while I've ended up way worse than my parents ever were. And so I started seeking some help. I got into our SAT program for drugs and alcohol. There I met Rocky and Mark.

And they started sharing Jesus, and I'm like, link it out of here. If I Jesus stuff, I'm like, prison tries to give you a Bible. But I watched them, you know, since I've been in and out of jail, you start watching people, and for three or four months, they were consistently the same. Rocky was happy, and Mark just had peace that I didn't see anywhere else. And he kept saying it was Jesus.

The Power of a Life Changed

So they finally invited me to a car race, prison retreat, and the catch was it had good food and free cookies. Right, yeah. I went for the cookies and the food. Yeah, Mark spent on the show, man. We did his interview a couple, probably four or five months ago now, but I mean, his story, dude, is just so free.

Yeah, what a crazy, 16 years from murder, yeah. Just to see that. And then the forgiveness that transpired between the victim's family and him and how all that kind of informed his life. And man, I mean, hearing your story, and for those who are watching, like if you want to catch the full details, like some of the stuff that Rob flew past at the intro of this conversation, it's a couple episodes back.

Turning Point: The Day of Salvation

One of the things I wanted to chat about today was, you know, you went through all that. The Lord got a hold of your life. I cut them off on purpose, so you'll go watch the other video. So scroll back up in the channel and check that out. That wasn't intentional, but man, like the bridge version on the other side is that, man, you've now, how long has it been since you stopped using? Like when's the last time you got high?

I don't, let's just go sound crazy for most people, especially in recovery. I don't even remember or think about the last time I got high. I got born again November 20th, 2010 in mid Jesus Christ. And that's the day I go. I know there was some time before that, but I don't need; it's not even, I've never even thought about it. Like that day, November 20th, 2010 changed my life.

The Importance of Relationship with God

So you've never been back since. Never backslid; I've never wanted to get high. I've never had a desire to get high. Yeah. I know that some people think that's crazy, but I know the old me and I know the me now, and I never had. So let's talk about that for a little bit. I wanted to jump into that topic because relapse is one of those hot-button topics in the recovery world.

And we've both seen it, man; we're folks on, even coming to the faith-based programs we work. For context, Rob works with Adult Teen Challenge now. He's run a ministry called Freedom House. I mean, you have a passion, right, for ministering to those who were just like us, and we see the ups and downs. And I think all of us have kind of worked with somebody and on the back end of their story kind of scratched our head and wondered what did they get wrong or what did we get wrong as leaders?

Navigating Relapses and Finding Freedom

Did I miss something in them? Did. But I've done something better and more. Right, all that stuff that we fight through. And then there are stories like yours where you got a hold of Jesus, right? And there's been this just like lasting freedom. Now, I've given up a long time ago trying to describe a very specific formula because recovery is so different, but maybe just for the context of conversation, like how did you do it, right?

Like I think that's the part where I can't tell everybody on the call what's gonna work for all of them. But what worked for Rob, right? That allowed you to get a hold of Christ at that time and jail with everything that went down your story. And then all these years later, like staying free but not using, continuing, like what's been your key to not relapsing?

It's the constant relationship with the Lord, not just being the church services and all that, man. First, it's the encounter. I believe you have to have not just say a prayer, not just, but there has to be a real encounter with him to where it's tangibly real. That changes.

The Transformative Power of Faith

I can tell you that the ocean's really nice and the waves come in and the sand feels squishy and your feet, and shells come and go, and it sounds good, but when they’re standing there, it's different, you know what I mean? And so I know that the encounter that I had, because I didn't even want to believe, you know what I mean? But when I met him that day, it was different.

And then I knew that when I got out, I was smart enough to know that, okay, I got this encounter, but I don’t know anything about his word. I don’t really know how to read his word. I don’t know how to understand his word. I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t even know where to start with it. Do I read it like a book?

Committing to Transformation

Do I do it, you know what I mean? And so I had to get in a program, and I got into a program, and I just remember like when I got there, you know, because I mean, like I said, we run them too, the year-long programs. It's people don't want to come for a year. I didn't really want to either. I spent four and a half years in prison away from my kids, but when I got there, I remember setting down and seeing this pastor.

It was Easter, so he had the whole family, and he had a huge table; it was probably 13, 15 feet long, and it fit 20-some people. And it wasn't even enough room for all of his family. There were kids and grandkids. And I remember setting there looking and thinking, man, like he has what I want. He has a life, he's loved, there's family.

Seeking Guidance and Embracing Change

People are gathering together, like I think all of us long to have, you know what I mean? Like to feel like we're part of a family and loved and wanted. And I was like, whatever he did, I don't know how to do it, so I'm gonna listen to him. And I just remember setting down when I first started that program, and I told that pastor, whatever you tell me to do, I'm gonna do, right?

I'm sorry if I get an attitude along the way, but I'm not going anywhere because you got what I want. I just had this tenacity to go after that. It's a good word. And then we went into the first prayer meeting. I was speaking in tongues and rolling down the floor. And I'd never seen that. Keep in mind I was unchurched, which I think is a good thing.

Overcoming Fear and Embracing Faith

Right, yeah. Because you don’t have anything to unlearn. It was just walking in, and I was ready to leave us. Like, send me back to prison, never mind, I'm going. And crazy though, how we could go. It is the part that always astonishes me. Like we can go to parties and watch people under the influence of drugs and alcohol do the stupidest, craziest thing.

Somebody acts up a little bit in church under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and we're like, oh my gosh, it's so weird. And I'm like, do you know the stuff that we did? You know, like anyways, I digress. But like, so that encounter, the Holy Spirit was present, right? And so what was it like when you said the encounter started it all off, right?

Gaining Understanding Through Scripture

So bring that in for somebody who is unchurched, right? How did that like for you? You had not really been churched, creased or saying a few times here and there, only knew David and Goliath is the only Bible story. You're in this prayer meeting where people are filled with the Spirit, the Lord is moving. And then like, how did the Lord draw you in and allow you to get to that point where you were open, right, to the Holy Spirit moving and the Lord ultimately starting that work in you?

Well, that's why I said what I said about the pastor first. I told him I would listen. That freaked me out. And then he came over. He seemed me because I went back in the corner, and he came over and sat down. I'll never forget what he said to me. Like he was usually pretty bold and pretty blunt, but he was real gentle in this moment.

Finding Clarity in Faith

And he said, hey, are you all right? I'm like, no, send me back to prison. And I said, are you freaked out? I said, yeah. This wasn't what we did at jail in church. So I mean, I'm not in these cities. And he said, open up your Bible. And I want you to read Acts 2 and I read it. And he said, I want you to read it to me again. Like, slow down and read it, and I read it.

We took our time. And he said, I just ask yourself this: is it possible that what you're reading is kinda what happened? Is it possible that we're living out like scripture? Like, could you see that? And he said, son, if you'll keep your mind open that everything in this word is for you, it's personal. You can walk in it, you can live it, and you can do it. You'll never go back to that lifestyle.

A Defining Moment of Faith

And I was like, really? He said, if you'll just believe it's the absolute truth and stand on it for the rest of your life, you'll never go back. So when did you believe it? Because I made a statement at the end of my sermon on Sunday; we were talking about vision and developing a plan and a future for your life. And I told the church, I said, I never forget when I met Jesus.

It was because somebody looked beyond the mess and told me God had a plan for my life. And in that moment, I was just broken enough and just foolish enough to believe that he was telling me the truth. And that was the transformative moment for me. I'll never forget it as long as I live. When was that moment for you that like what he said made sense of dropped into your heart, and you're like, man, this is right.

Standing Firm in Faith

I had to go through extensive court dates to get my kids back. And I had to go all the way to Martin’s Bird, which was an hour and a half from levels. He couldn't go with me. So I would go down there and I would call him what we would pray before we go in.

And I remember he always said, Rob, stand on the word, stand on the word. And so I remember praying to the Lord, and when I got saved in prison, the guy gave me Proverbs 3:5 and 6. So it's trusted in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your understanding, knowledge him and all your ways. He'll direct your paths. And so that gave to me and him telling me to stand on the word.

Trusting the Process

This is gonna sound crazy. This is this out. The Lord works at me. I was like, okay, Lord, what my pastor was telling me, I'm just just honest. My ex-wife really still hated me and did not want me to have the kids. She had cops, obviously, that she was friends with that all knew my past.

And everything against me to get my kids back. I'm fresh out of prison, I'm still on parole, I'm going through all of the, you know what I mean? And I'm fighting to get them back with nobody with me, just me. I'm looking at cops on the other side, you know what I mean?, In uniform, and here's the judge. And the Lord said, listen, I need—this was the first time I really heard him talk to me. He said, I need you to not fight, to not retaliate, not respond. You just own up, and you just show that you've changed.

The Power of Standing Firm

Wow. I was like, how do I do that when everybody's against me? And so I took the stand on the word, and I wrote down Proverbs 3:5 and 6. And I put them under my shoes, or under my feet and my shoes. And I stood on it in that courtroom. And I walked through like nine months of court dates like that being attacked and accused, ridiculed.

And I had a paid lawyer that my dad got that said, I know dirt on her; I can – and I said, no, we're not going to use that. Right. I said, I'm paying you. The Lord told me to be still and trusted. Yeah. And so I did that. And at the end of that, like her lawyer fired her; she ended up with no lawyer.

The Victory of Faith

And the judge gave me custody in my case, like partial because every other weekend, which I did not see coming in the first round. You know, you say to the judges like everything they're saying about me is true. I'm not going to deny any of it. Yeah. And when I got the proof, I was sharing the gospel. I didn't realize it back then, but I was sharing the gospel in the courtroom.

I'm like, sir, absolutely everything she says is true. I hope that I can stand here today and show you that I'm a changed man because I've met Jesus Christ. I fell in love with him, and my life is changing and going a good direction now, and I'm going to continue that path.

Living a New Life in Christ

And so I just, I learned through that process. I was like, when I got done and I got that verdict, I just remember setting out there crown. I'm like, oh my gosh, like did what he said? And I followed the word, and I stood on it, and I trusted the Lord. And here's what happened. I didn't understand it. It was way beyond what I thought was possible.

Yeah, and the outcome was there. And so that was like the first moment where I've seen the word come to life in my life when using it, if that makes sense for sure.

The Key to Lasting Freedom

And so that started that foundation of knowing that God was for you and imagine building a confidence, right? That man, if like overcoming the desire to use again, number one, not only do I assume you had the mental like understanding that if I go back to that, no, it's going to destroy all the progress, you know?

And I think that's the part where I think maybe sometimes I don’t necessarily like agree with the secular, some of the secular stuff. It's like, really that says a huge deal. You know what I'm saying? Like it doesn't have to be part of recovery. But the other side of that is that it, I think where we've overblown it is that we don't show people enough grace when they do.

The Reality of Struggle

Like people are going to struggle and stumble, and it's like we don't have to kick people when they're down. But like my heart is like, man, I would hope people could have that same encounter but you did, like you did that we don't have to go down that road again. You know?

And so during that whole process, man, was there a temptation? I mean, talk about that and stuff being thrown at you, and how did you battle that part of it very practically speaking? Learning to stand on the word. And learning that the word is, you will know the truth and truth will actually free. Learning that.

Transforming the Mind

And for me, the whole thing of never relapsing sums up to this man. It might even be some of what I speak about the night. Like when it says transform your mind, like we've got to understand to get rid of everything that we believe, the way that we live, the way that we thought, the way that we responded to things, like all of that has to transform.

And the word is what replaces that and teaches us to live differently. And so that word born again, you know what I mean? It's thrown around loosely in the church. But for me, I know, and this belief has never left to me. I know that the day I met him, I died.

Embracing a New Identity

And I got born again. Like I literally seen my encounter was seeing myself laying there dead. And I knew that when I came out of the other end of that, that I wasn't bipolar, that I wasn't manic. You know what I mean? Like everything left to me. So then understanding the word, when you have the encounter and then you get in the word and start realizing, hold on.

Second Corinthians 5:17, old things pass away, old things become new. That's very good. Now I'm new, like, and so the reason why I haven't relapsed is because it's not in my DNA. You know, in the worldly secular party, it's like, hey, you're always going to be an alcoholic. It's in there, you inherited it. Well, no, I died.

The New Creation

Right. And now I have a new bloodline. And in this bloodline, there's no alcoholism, no drug addiction, no bipolar, no mental illness. I'm different, and I'm made new. Yeah, wow, that's good. Transforming your mind to really believe that, not just quote it, say it, and put it on a t-shirt is the key to never going back. Why would I go back to that?

Knowing what I get, right? Jail's institutions in death if you want that recovery time. You know, at least they don't kill or destroy. And this Jesus new life is abundant. Yeah, that's so good, dude.

The Work of Transformation

It's like going out to the graveyard and digging up our old corpse, like, you know, and like, yeah, like, he's gone. He's buried, man. What a powerful perspective and illustration there. So that process of renewing the mind, obviously, like, it takes work. And that's the part of like old life, new life, but then being willing to put the work in.

And knowing having a healthy perspective, right? Like, and so how did you frame that, right? When you knowing the work that had to be done, how did you, I guess, maybe convince yourself or stay committed to the process of what the Lord was doing on your life?

Well, because I knew, again, I started learning to really stand on what I knew was the truth and that John 10:10. Okay, if I choose this life, it's still kill destroyed. If I choose this life, it's abundant life. You know what I mean? And so I'm like, okay, if I put in this much work for the enemy to destroy my life and my family, I can put in work to get to know the work.

Embracing the Journey

Because to me, it's an identity crisis. Every form, and I learned this even a second, and it wasn’t really a second, but in the rehab program in prison, every one of our addiction and addictive behaviors, anything, whether it's drugs, alcohol, sex, whatever, always goes back to an insecurity.

It always goes back to low self-esteem or something like that, right? You know what I mean? And so the thing isn't, get rid of all the symptoms. The thing is really change your belief system to believe who you are in Christ. And when you can believe that about yourself, like we love because he first loved us.

The Journey of Identity

We can't give away love or be loved until we know that we're loved. And so when you get the identity of, I'm really adopted into a kingdom. I got a dad that loves me with no performance, no, I don't have to earn it or fight for it.

And I really can’t do any kind of bad things to lose it. I can walk away from it and choose to it. But this dad loves me. And so you get security in knowing who you are. And when you do that, like why would I want that? Like I have a whole kingdom in my life, right?

Conclusion: The Power of a Changed Life

Like everything is laid in front of us. We co-heirs with Christ, and inherit a kingdom that killed death in the grave. You know what I'm saying? They conquered all the darkness. And we get to walk like him. So what the Bible says? Cause he's trying to make us into his image.

God made us in his very own image, right? He created, and he told Adam, go subdue the earth. We have all the power to subdue that stuff. But we have to know who we are and really believe it. And I think this was what it was for me.

My process was, okay, I see it, but now I gotta really believe it. And for me, and I think most men, maybe women aren't this way. But man, we gotta have hands-on stuff. You can teach me stuff in a classroom when putting the engine together. But if you take me out there three times and show me and have me physically do it, I could probably put it together after that.

So I had to just take the word that it says it's life, right? It's living and breathing and active. So if it's active, that means I can do it. And when I started putting it into practice, like putting it in my shoes and doing that stuff, it started becoming who I was, and it was easy to believe. Is that what makes sense, absolutely.

We talk about that like I'm born again, right? I'm born into a new family, a new identity, right? And I think so often we bring, we try to like mix the old and the new. You know what I'm saying? And so it's like, if I'm born again and now I'm a baby in Christ, I'm having to relearn a new way of life.

And what ends up happening, I think a lot of times—and this is why relapse is so prevalent—we bring old robber Justin into God's design and God's pattern. And so where that mixture is, you know, the Bible talks about lukewarm is what it's, he vomits us out of his mouth, and that's strong language, but it's necessary language, right? Because God is opposed to the mixture.

So if I am new in Christ, then I understand I've got to relearn all of this. And so that's that part where, like, yeah, man, I guess that maybe the more healthy question would be how do people get to that place of desperation? To where they're willing—it’s not about relapsing or not relapsing—but how do I get to that place of desperation where I'm willing to let that old man completely die?

Because it's things we don't notice either. Like it's simple things like how you deal with a bad circumstance. Well, we learned from our parents what we learned, whether it's screaming, yelling, throwing stuff, anger, rage, what we learned that; and we don’t think like that’s the old man. That is the old man.

And so then we have to learn how to don't let the sun go down while you're still angry, man; you gotta forgive people. And I think that's the hard part. You know, when Jesus said, follow me, we all like the signs, wonders, miracles, and raising the dead and all that stuff, right? But when he taught them, he didn't teach them about that.

Practical Steps to Overcoming

He taught them, hey, forgive your enemies, pray for the ones that persecute you. He taught ways to transform your mind. Keep your eyes; you look at the wrong thing. Yeah, it's fine. It's like those are the things that has to transform.

You know what I mean? Even one of my things was lust. It's like I grew up where it was normal. One of the walls were down here for everywhere. So you get into the kingdom and it's like, oh, that has to change, too, that my view of women has to change. And so you have to start seeing things.

And I got convicted by the Holy Ghost one day of looking at a girl, and he's like, that's my daughter. And I'm like, oh, right. Sorry, that, you know what I mean? Like, wow, you put it in that respect that I have daughters. Hold on, I don’t want nobody to look. You know what I mean?

Final Thoughts on Transformation

And so Jesus says, if you even look at a woman unless we’ve committed adultery. So there's plenty of things that we have to look at in there that we can see people don’t think foul language is a big thing. Listen, it’s not. Jesus didn’t do it, right? You know what I mean?

And so if we look at how do we put on Christ and put on things, you have to read the word and see where it shows. This is how he walked. This is what he did. He said, follow him. I've got to follow that, not what I used to do and how I used to do it. And like you're saying, it's got to be this desperation, which is where I was at. I was completely done with my life.

And I just said, hey, if you want this crappy life, you can have it. Because there's nothing left. Right, yeah. If you'll take it, have it. Yeah. And he clearly said, I'll give you mine. And that was a crazy exchange that makes no sense. I'm treinamento earth and vessels, right?

It's like, so let me then ask for somebody who is on, you know, Rob, if you're speaking to somebody, you're ministering to somebody that has maybe made a surface commitment, right? There's not been a lot of depth and they're kind of battling through relapse specifically, right? And so how are you challenging somebody in that? I know every situation is different.

Closing Remarks

So let's just go very broad, right? How are you challenging somebody to go back and figure out what went wrong? What was it they were missing that didn't give them that staying power to be able to continue in the new life that cries? Because you said, we agree like that. Identity crisis for self-esteem issues, you know what I'm saying?

And so what's your starting point in those type of conversations? One, if they would be wrong and honest, like what's your biggest issue? Is it insecurity? Is it not being a good dad? Is it, you know, find out what the triggers, if you want to say that? What's the things that cause you to get off whack and say, you know, what, forget that?

I want to do—I'm angry. What are the things that really get you stirred up? Because that's where we got to start, the route, not the symptoms. Let's find out what it is. Is it pride? Is it low self-esteem? Whatever it is, like what do you really think of you? And then let's find the scriptures.

Let's find the scriptures to deal with it. And if you'll make a commitment to really study and practice those scriptures, you'll find out after some time those kinds of behaviors will go away. Like that is the way, like you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. That's the way we get past that stuff.

And then if there's the situation as Paul, hey, take this from me. Right. Hey, my grace is sufficient. There's just some things that's gonna be a weakness, and you've got to be okay. I heard one pastor say it like this, you'll never learn how to surrender to the supremacy of Christ, the Lordship of Christ, until you understand the sufficiency of Christ.

Like the need for him in every area. Yeah, that's good. You know what I mean? Like until you get that, hey, some things, I'm not even gonna be able – but I'm gonna depend and trust him. I'm gonna pray to him. I'm gonna say, God, this is my weak area right now.

The Heart of a Changed Life

As soon as the temptation comes, I'm gonna pray. I'm gonna get on my face. I'm gonna turn on worship music. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get in your presence so that I don't do what the old man wants to resurrect and do. And that's the only way to kill that self-sufficiency.

It's to acknowledge the weakness when it comes up and be man enough, be bold enough to acknowledge the weakness and have that humility before the Lord, right? Cause all of this starts with just the raw truth of being able to be honest with ourselves and other people.

And until we're comfortable, right? Not lying to ourselves anymore. I got to hold on this. This is, oh, it's just a small relapse. It's not a big deal. You know, whatever those statements are that we often tell ourselves, we lie to ourselves to make ourselves feel more comfortable about our sin, right?

Like there’s gotta be that honesty, that gut-level honesty and rawness. And that's, a God is so, we think he's opposed like he's repelled by our failures. But really man, even when we blow it, he's drawn to our weakness. He's drawn to our humility and our ability in those moments to say, Lord, here I am, I blew it again.

And like if that happens, like it's, he's always willing to meet us there with our grace. But I think some of us end up, some people end up stuck in that cycle cause they're too busy denying that there's still an issue, right? That they haven't dealt with, yeah.

One, it's like the bad view of the father causes a lot of that. When we do miss him, I mean, I love the book, The Pistol of First John. Like I could, stuck in that and I can't get out of it.

I think it's in one, two, two, six or something. He says, he is pure light in him. There's no darkness. And when we remain in unbroken fellowship with him, the blood of Jesus cleanses us wrong and righteous. So what you just described is that scripture for me. It's like, okay, if I blow it, just like if my kid fell off a bike or if my kid stole a candy bar or whatever, anything, if they ran away from me, it would hurt me.

But if they ran to me, I'm there. Hey, I got you. You know what I mean, I'll help you up. But I think having the wrong view of who God really is. You know what I mean? And understanding that he is that grace, he is that all light that he doesn't want the darkness around.

Final Thoughts for the Audience

And if you'd run to him more, the darkness would quit happening. That's how you learn. It's not follow the rules. It's keep running to that and stay in his presence long enough, and he cleanses all of this.

Well Rob, I'd love to talk longer, but I know we're getting close to time for you to speak tonight. And so for those watching, man, you can, I'll tag Rob in any Facebook post. And if this is on YouTube, I'll drop his page in the comments, his Facebook profile. Rob works with Adult Teen Challenge, Pastors a Church, and now in Cumberland, Maryland, right? Everything's over in Cumberland.

They're doing an incredible work over there, and so I encourage you to go check his stuff out as well. And then also tonight, this is gonna air after the fact, but his message from the Teen Challenge, Freedom Knights, you're in Chinatown Valley, will be up on the YouTube as well. So I encourage you to check that out.

And man, thanks for the conversation. I wish we could have gone longer. I know we really just scratched the surface, but man, I really appreciate it.

Well, we can continue to think that way.

Closing Remarks: Engagement and Reflection

Alright, well God bless you guys. Thank you for watching. I appreciate y'all continuing to tune into the podcast. And please hit the like button, subscribe to the channel, leave a comment, maybe give us some feedback. What are your thoughts on Relapse Prevention? Identity, really figuring out who you are in Christ. And on just give us some feedback and we'd love to engage with you in the comments.

God bless you guys. Have a great week. Bye bye.