How to overcome an addiction? This story is about my younger brother who always gets into trouble. But God continues to show patience with him until he can get his life straight. My brother is a year younger than me. We have been close since we were kids, but we also fight a lot. Unlike my younger sister that I never had any fights with since she was small, except that we just don’t speak to each other when we have misunderstandings. My brother and I on the other hand would really get into an action fight. I can still remember when we were small. My brother and I got into a fight and I ended up picking up a stick and waving it in front of his face. He was not a bit afraid of me and was advancing toward me, and the stick caught his eyebrow and cut it. The blood was spewing out of his eyebrow and mom was treating it fast. But I was being punished for it, because I was the oldest and I should know better. It did not matter who started the fight, whoever got injured got sympathy.
Childhood background
Growing up with my brother was a challenge. He loves me so much that he would be willing to die for me if someone tried to hurt me. But oh how bad it was when we fought, it seemed like we could kill each other too. My brother always lacked attention and discipline. When my father got sick we were just kids. We lost that fatherly discipline. And mom was too busy taking care of dad and always working to feed all of us. So my brother was never corrected much. So he made mistakes and continued to do whatever he wanted. He got into bad influences and got involved in stealing and gambling and later on dealing illegal drugs for other people.
Sibling fights
When he was about fifteen years old, he was introduced to the Lord Jesus and accepted Him in his heart. But being a young Christian and not grounded in the Word of God, it did not take much for him to get swayed from every direction to doing many bad things. He was always rebellious. He always wanted what he wanted, and would do anything even if it would cause him to risk his life. Do not get me wrong, I love my brother. The reason I am sharing his story is to let you know the amazing grace and patience of God is his life.
Consequences of wanting to get rich fast
Knowing God is one thing, but obeying His Word is another thing. My brother was what I called having a mentality of playing it safe. But what he did not realize was that he was actually playing in the fire. Police and drug lords eventually ended up chasing after him. When he was about thirty one years old he got involved with drug pushers and drug lords. My brother was one of those people who liked to get rich fast. And in the Philippines it really takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to earn even just enough for daily living, if you want to do it the right way. On the other hand, selling illegal drugs is prominent there. And there are so many corrupt people who are in the government even doing it. And a lot of times once a person is involved, it is very hard for them to get out of it, and could even cost them their lives.
Doing crime can get you arrested and put in jail
So many young men even in their teens in the Philippines get involved in dealing illegal drugs for easy money. Unfortunately, so many of them ended up in jail and ruined their future. When I found out that my brother was dealing with illegal drugs, I was very afraid for him and was sad over his bad decision. He was even using it himself and later I found out that one of our cousins was also involved. I knew then that their lives would be in great danger, and so I begged them to stop it right away. But I did not realize how deeply they were actually already involved with it until later on. It took a lot of chasing from the police and beatings from the other drug pushers and drug lords and their cohorts to get my brother to change his direction.
He later on was recalling with me the situation and how many times he was chased and beaten by the drug lords. And it was not long after he got deeply involved with the illegal drugs that the police started noticing the activities of the other drug pushers. On one occasion he told me that he was carrying ten kilograms or about twenty two pounds of methamphetamine hydrochloride (also known locally as shabu) and marijuana. While transporting it on his motorcycle he ran into a vehicle checkpoint by the police. He was waved to stop in the middle of the road. He slowed down a little bit but saw a little opening and instead of stopping, he sped up. He was driving one of those fast racing motorcycles and was able to get away fast! But the police got in their jeep and chased him. The chase went on for a while.
Chased by the police, drug lords and God
My brother realized that the police were catching up to him. He turned in at one of the side roads in a remote area and hid there for a while. It just happened that he knew a family living in the area and was able to borrow a tag or plate number for his motorcycle and also clothes and immediately changed. After a few hours he decided that it was time to continue out on the main road. By this time he had thrown away the illegal drugs so that the police could not find it on him. When he got back out on the main road, there he saw the police again. They waved him to stop, this time he did stop. They were checking him out, his plate number and driver’s license. It just happened that when all of this took place it was at night. The police were sure that it was the same motorcycle, but the plate number was different from what they initially saw. The police were unsure of how the driver looked because he was wearing a face cover when they saw him and this time my brother did not cover his face.
The law will require you to pay any crime
The police continued to ask him questions, but my brother would never let the police get close to him for fear of planting evidence on him. My brother somehow was able to partially convince the police that it was not him that they saw earlier, so they let him go. The police were baffled, but they could not arrest my brother based on the plate number or the clothes he was wearing, because even if they had taken a picture of the description the first time it would not match the second time, therefore it would not hold up in court for evidence. But they sure were keeping an eye on him since then.
My brother sure did get away from the police, but it was a great warning for him. So what now? What happened to all those illegal drugs he had thrown away? No one knows. My brother went back to where he had thrown it a few days later and it was not there anymore. He happened to throw it in an area where a lot of people are living. It was a lot of illegal drugs he had blown away. And it was all gone. He had to pay for it, because the money he took to buy it was not his. It was worth forty thousand pesos or the equivalent of eight hundred U.S. dollars. It does not seem like a lot of money, but for my brother who had no job and money, it was a fortune there in the Philippines.
You will have to pay whom you owed from
And then the drug lords came. They wanted the drugs or in case the money, since my brother was not able to deliver. My brother could not pay since he did not have the money. So he started running away from them. The drug lords kept hunting him down and every time they found my brother, they would beat him up and demand to be paid. They were plotting to kill him many times so he would pay them back. My brother knows martial arts, and would fight back hard until he could get away from them. They could have shot him many times, but they were hoping that my brother would eventually pay them back. So they would just beat him up, but my brother would fight back until he could get away from them. But just how much could he keep fighting? Or how far could he keep running?
The truth was he could not keep on fighting and keep running away from those people on his own. At first he thought he could, but his strength and ability to keep fighting was wearing thin. He had to settle his debts somehow, somehow. He could not go to the police to get help because he could get in trouble too with affiliation with those drug people. He stopped transporting illegal drugs, but he was tired and just wanted to have peace and not have to keep running. He asked God for help. He was miserable, and he surrendered his life to God. And if it would be God’s will for him to continue living without running for his life then let it be. But he was not going to keep running anymore.
Caught by the love, grace and mercy of God
My brother was able to get some help from a friend to get a job. The friend is one of the head security guards for a security agency. My brother’s friend evaluated him and made sure he qualified for the job. My brother did tell this friend what his situation was, and the friend was willing to help. During this time, the main drug lord that my brother was working for before got caught by the police and put in jail. My brother found out about it and later went to visit the man in jail. He told the man about God and His forgiveness. My brother told the man in jail that even though he got caught, it was not too late for him to have a change of heart and surrender his life to Jesus and be saved.
The man was open to the conversation that my brother brought to him. My brother further asked the man if it was possible to give him a break from his debt over the drugs he had thrown away. They both have children on their own and my brother was pleading with the man in jail for the sake of the children to abandon the drug business and to start doing the right thing. My brother was urging the man to change his ways before it’s too late. The man in jail was remorseful according to my brother and gave his life to the Lord Jesus that day. He would serve his sentence and promised that when he gets out of jail he will serve the Lord and do the right thing from there on forward. He also told my brother to not worry anymore about anyone hunting down because he is now at peace and Jesus has paid it all for both of them.
Reach out to God for help, He is reaching out to you
The lesson to be learned here is that no matter how many times you run away from the law for doing wrong, it will eventually catch up with you. The law will punish us for our wrong doing. We will have to pay for our sins. There will be consequences when we make bad decisions. But the grace of God is so amazing that if we would just turn over our lives to Him, He will make a way for us. In fact, He already made the way for us to get saved, and that is through His Son, the Lord Jesus.
There is no doubt that God loves my brother and that my brother belongs to Him. My brother should have been in jail, but God had a purpose for allowing him to be an instrument to reach out to the drug lord and to present to him the plan of salvation. My brother was like the prodigal son who squandered his life away for the sake of wealth in this world. He was too focused on the material things and the love for money had blinded his faith in God who is the main source of everything we need. Despite the rebellious ways of my brother against God and his family, God’s love remained. God was patient with my brother until he eventually returned back to God. God’s grace was with my brother and saved him from every danger he was going through. He still had to pay his debts by facing all those near death experiences, but God never left him.
God is an amazing God, an awesome God, and faithful to His promises. He really cares for us and promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He never changes, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. My brother was not caught by the law on earth while doing the wrong things. But he was caught by the amazing grace of God, and was with him all along. God was keeping him safe and making a way for every situation, just so my brother would one day finally see the amazing grace of God and surrender his life again to God. It does not matter how bad you have been or how many sins you have committed. It is never too late for you to come to God, and surrender your life to him. Allow His amazing grace to guide you, cleanse you, and make you a new person from the inside out.
Call to surrender, will you trust God?
God is just waiting for you to surrender all those burdens you are carrying on your shoulders. He wants to give you relief, but He can only give it to you if you allow Him and accept His offer of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are not promised tomorrow, but God’s Word urges us to not harden our hearts and receive His offer today. For today is the day of salvation. Today, when you encounter God through His Word, do not harden your heart, because tomorrow may be too late. And the only thing left for you is the fiery lake in hell where Satan and all those who rebelled against God and rejected His offer of salvation will be thrown down after you take your last breath here on earth. Hell will be a place of torment, a torment that will keep haunting you for eternity. It will be a torment, wishing that you had made the right decision and accepted the plan of salvation that God so graciously offers to all of us now. Will you accept it now or will you harden your heart and be tormented forever?
Surrendering to God and let Him work through your life is the key to overcoming any addiction
The stories I have shared about my family are to show you that God is still in the miracle business. God is still saving and changing lives. And that nothing is too hard and too difficult for God to solve. These are my testimonies. I am testifying to the greatness of God in my life and my family. My family has been through a lot and so maybe you too. It may be a different circumstance, but it is still hard. Surrender it to God. There is hope for you. Now is your time to decide. Will you accept His offer? If you will, then you can repeat the prayer below.
Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I have done so many wrong things in my life. I acknowledge the fact that without you I am lost and hopeless. I need your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sins. I ask you to come into my heart, forgive my sins, and be the ruler of my life. Thank you for saving me from my sins. I now know that only you are my source of eternal life and entrance to heaven. Thanks for being patient with me. I now have hope and I surrender everything and my life to you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
I am an ordained minister who is doing missionary work for over 15 years now. I was born in one of the island in the Philippines called Cebu. Growing up in a poor condition, I managed to overcome the hurdles of life with a positive attitude, grateful for everything and most of all by the grace of God. I have always challenge myself to do better with my life at a young age and pursue my dreams and ambitions in life by working hard and never complains about the hardships I went through. I have become successful in so many ways that I want to share my life's journey and how I can help you improve your life and reach your goals to a height of success. You can't imagine now how much you can really do if you just have a positive outlook of life and have the attitude of being grateful in every circumstance.
