Hopelessly Addicted to Drugs

by Godloves.me | 21. October 2022

Hope is something that everyone is looking for today. Yet it’s often difficult for us to put the meaning of ‘hope’ into words. Actually, it’s easier for us to describe hopelessness.

I went through a state of personal and total hopelessness after eight years of drug addiction and heroin dependence. I tried to break out of these chains through withdrawal and some pseudo-piety. But my attempts failed miserably, and I fell back again into heroin dependency. I had failed yet again.

I told myself, “You’ll never make it.” I looked around. Several of my drug-addicted friends had died in the meantime; others had lost it and had ended up in the hospital; and still others had become disfigured or even crippled due to a drug-related accident. No one had anymore hope—no one saw any light. And no one from the outside world gave us hopeful input. Ours was a dark, cold, merciless world! Where is there any hope still to be found?

I knew God, and I asked Him to help me. Hope arose again. God’s light drove away the hopelessness. His love began to slowly change me. God sent people my way to encourage me. Jesus gradually set me free from the swamp of drugs and hopelessness. I still have problems to deal with. I’m not living in some sort of fantasy, but I know that Jesus is my hope. He is my hope in everyday life, in my family, and at work. Jesus has become my friend and companion. He is not simply a crutch, but rather the support of my life. This is also my wish for you.

Harry Pepelnar

The True Meaning of Life

by Godloves.me | 21. October 2022

There are many beautiful moments in life, but sooner or later there will be other phases as well. During these storms, it is important to have the right equipment in order not to fall into some bottomless pit and completely despair.

At the age of 32, for the first time in my life, a real storm swept into my life. My wife was expecting our first child, and we were both very happy. However, a few weeks before the birth, I was suddenly having a difficult time remaining excited. I was experiencing severe pain. Ten days after the birth, after several misdiagnoses, I was diagnosed with a serious malignant tumor. My world few apart. A thousand questions ran through my mind all at the same time. I thought about my son. I imagined that I would never be able to watch him grow up. I thought about my wife, both of them alone without me…

I started to understand the true meaning of life, which we often miss because of our meaningless worries. I started asking myself: “For whom have I been living up until now? To whom have I dedicated my time? Have I only been thinking of myself?”

Suddenly I found myself looking at nature with completely different eyes; even a simple blade of grass seemed amazing. I also began to appreciate the mountains of my wife’s hometown, which had previously made me feel like a caged bird. From that moment on, whenever I look at the Alps in their majestic size, I am reminded of a Psalm from the Bible: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

These words were a source of comfort for me.

The medical treatments were very aggressive. Thanks to God’s help, the disease could be reduced until it finally completely disappeared. In the meantime, I have also developed a love for the mountains, which would have been previously unimaginable.

David Savino

Half Full or Half Empty?

by Godloves.me | 21. October 2022

How I would have loved to have run with the other children, but my body was too weak for that. As a result, I felt that I had been placed on the sidelines. Although much has changed over the past years, I can still feel the weakness of my body today. When my friends excluded me from activities they did together, I especially felt like an outsider. Their fear that my weak health could prove to be an obstacle to playing sports or climbing mountains was understandable, however. Still, this “being set aside” in so many circumstances left deep inner wounds, which brought me into a crisis.

A Bible study on safety and security showed me my true self worth. A new certainty awakened within me: I am completely and absolutely accepted by God; He loves me very much. All of this helped my relationship with God to deepen. I realized that He has thoughts of peace over my life to give me a future and a hope. This statement may seem like a slap in the face to you if you are currently resisting both your destiny in life and a God of love. I also know this phase very well; and for years I kept asking the question: “Why me?”

After having read in the Bible how Job and some of the Psalmists had brought their “why” before God, one day I had the courage to ask God this question: “Lord, why did this have to happen to me of all people?” I never received all the answers to my suffering. Nonetheless, I came to understand His work in my life much better, just like Job did. In this way, I slowly began to realize that my difficulties are limited and passing. With God’s help, new horizons opened up for me. I learned to thank Him for the “half-full cup” which God Himself had poured for me. Thus, I no longer mourned the “half-empty cup.”

Since then, my comfort is found in God’s Word: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Anni Schatzmann