Charles Peterson
Posted on May 6, 2020 by admin in Our Stories | 0
I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior when I was an eight-year-old boy. As best I knew how at that age I repented of my sins and asked Him into my life as my Lord and Savior. From there I regularly went to church with my family and grew in knowledge as a Christian.
As a young teen I took part in a Saturday bus ministry where I learned the importance of sharing Christ with others. When I was 17 years old I attended a Summer church camp and recommitted myself to Christ. After graduating from high school I decided to go to work rather than go to college.
At that job I got mixed up with a crowd that took me to places that a Christian should never go. I tried to find happiness through self-gratification and wrongful living. As to be expected, that lifestyle did not lead to anything but dissatisfaction, loneliness and emptiness.
During this time a couple of my close high school friends were killed in an automobile accident. But by the grace of God, I would have been with them that evening. Through that, God revealed to me that I was not where I needed to be in my relationship to Him. I never forget that had I been a faithful witness to those two young men, they could possibly be in heaven today but I don’t believe they were saved when they were killed. It wasn’t long after this that Jesus became real to me again in my life. This single event was a wake up call to me that I needed to get right with God and stay there.
From there I went to college where I met the mother of my two children. My relationship with Jesus in the years that followed was up and down. While I never slipped back into deep sin, I sometimes didn’t depend on God like I knew I should.
During this period of my life I started looking at worldly things to satisfy my spiritual needs to a point that it didn’t matter what the consequences were. I was still going to church and still had a daily prayer time and read my Bible even though I didn’t have a close relationship with Christ.
In the fall of 2007 during my daily quiet time I recommitted my life to Jesus yet again. This time it was different than any other time in my life. I promised God that no matter what events took place in my life I was going to be 100% His from then on.
In March of 2008 I lost my job of 20 years. In June 2008, my daughter graduated from high school. By the end of that year all my savings was gone due to the loss of work. In late summer of the next year, my wife of 27 years said she wanted a divorce. As a Christian I wouldn’t accept it but her reasons left me no doubt that divorce was the only option.
In January 2010 I moved out of my home to live on my own. So, within about two years of my complete submission to Jesus, I had lost my job, my marriage and had filed for bankruptcy. The amazing thing was that through all these events I had a peace knowing that God was in control of all these events and that I was right where He wanted me to be. In looking back at it I believe He, in effect, took away all the things that meant so much to me so I could truly look to only Him for my needs. What a blessing that was. Without hesitation I can absolutely say that I would trade those “things” for Him any time. The peace He has given me from that day in 2007 has been unexplainable. There’s a deep satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are in God’s will that cannot be found in anything else.
My testimony is to the carnal Christian who has walked away from Christ. Yes, I knew my salvation was secure from a boy of eight years. He promises that once you are His you are His forever. He is always faithful to give yet another chance even when we are not faithful to Him. What I can never get back though are the years of service to God that were squandered away for my own selfishness and self-satisfaction. The funny part of it is that my desire to get satisfaction from things, praises and position led me to near destruction. I can say for sure that the only thing that leads to real peace and joy is from doing what God’s Word tells us we should do as His child. When you sin you break the relationship. This sin can come in many forms, greed, selfishness, desires, anything that comes before God. Love God, act like Him. He will give you peace that passes all understanding. Life’s ups and downs will still come but God gives you a vision of Him that only being close to Him can reveal.