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A Miracle of Healing (in Mike’s own words)
I was not happy; in fact, I hated my life and I hated being me.
I was a practicing alcoholic for 18 years, beginning in 1976. At the end, I had been a daily drinker for 16 years, and an around-the-clock drinker for the last six. I had not drawn on sober breath for six years; it was beyond my capacity to control it. I was suffering from a physical craving, a mental obsession, and a spiritual bankruptcy. I was not happy; in fact, I hated my life and I hated being me.
I had always believed in God, but He had been pushed aside in my futile attempt to blot out my pain and misery with alcohol. And although I still claimed to believe in God, I knew my actions said something else, and I hated the hypocrite I saw looking back at me in the bathroom mirror.
[in jail] I got on my knees . . . and said a prayer of desperation and anguish. “God, please help me! I can’t do this!”
August 7, 1994 found me sitting in a jail cell, after wrecking my car. I was taking a good, hard look at myself and my life, and I did not like anything I saw. I had legal problems, financial problems, marital problems, and health problems, mental and physical. I didn’t know what I was going to do about all that, but I did know that I could not like that way for one more day. So, finally, I got on my knees, came crawling back to God, and said a prayer of desperation and anguish. “God, please help me! I can’t do this!” I did not offer God any deals or make any promises, just asked for mercy. Almost immediately, I strongly and unmistakably felt the hand of God. In the midst of the chaos, I felt calm, I was comforted.
From that moment on, I never took another drink. I was too stubborn and too stupid to realize that I probably needed medical attention, so I detoxed at home and at work, but God carried me through the withdrawal symptoms. Not only have I been able to stay sober, but I can honestly say, 29 years later, that I have never even come close to picking up a drink. Then mental obsession was simply taken from me, and it has not returned. I did not and could not make that happen. This was truly a miracle of God; I take credit for absolutely nothing. He delivered me.
From that moment on, I never took another drink. . . I owe God everything.
God plucked me off the scrap heap, set me on my feet, and gave me a second chance. I am eternally grateful. How could it be otherwise? I owe God everything; I have to serve Him, and it is my honor and privilege to do so.
~ Mike, a grateful member of Calvary Chapel Battle Creek
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