God Is Real

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Cristian Suarez started using drugs at the age of 14 in Colombia.

Image © Pacific Press

By 18, he was a hard-core drug user, and an up-and-coming rock star after winning an audition to join a well-known rock group. He thought he had reached the top, playing to wild crowds in sold-out soccer stadiums.

When he turned 21, he decided to go solo, and his dreams collapsed. After a daunting year on his own, he was left with no money or home. He moved back in with his mother. Drugs seemed to be his sole refuge.

Cristian had never believed in God. But sad, lonely, and alone at home, he lifted up his eyes and said, “Lord, I don’t know who you are. I don’t even believe in you. But if You are real, if You really exist, I need You to tell me. If You tell me, “I am real,’ I will follow you.”

At that precise moment, his cellphone rang.

“Hello, could I please speak with Cristian Suarez,” an elder woman said.

“You are speaking to him,” he said. “How can I help you?”

“Cristian, I’ve called to tell you that God is real,” she said.

Cristian was shocked. The caller had said the exact words that he had asked from God in order to believe in Him.

“What’s your name?” he said.

He didn’t recognize her name, Nulbia, when she gave it. She said she was the 65-year-old sister of one of his musician friends, Leonardo.

“Why did you tell me precisely those words?” Cristian asked.

She said Cristian had visited her home for the first time two weeks earlier to pick up her brother for a rehearsal. That night, she prayed, “Lord, that man needs You.” She got Cristian’s phone number from her brother and, two weeks later, felt impressed to call. She prayed, “Lord, use me,” and made the call.

Cristian excitedly called another friend, Alfonso, to tell him about the phone call. Alfonso got a strange sound in his voice and asked Cristian to come over to his house. He met Cristian with a Bible in his hand. Cristian was surprised. Alfonso had never mentioned God in the years that they had been friends. That night, Alfonso gave him a thorough Bible study about Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. It turned out that Alfonso wanted to become an Adventist.

Three months later, Cristian was baptized and free of drugs. Today, a decade later, he is studying to become a pastor at Colombia Adventist University in Medellin, Colombia. Alfonso also has joined the Adventist Church.

Cristian no longer has any doubt about God. “Nothing is impossible for God,” he said.

This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a missionary training center at Colombia Adventist University.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Further Thought:

Read Ellen G. White, “God’s People Delivered,” pages 635-645, in The Great Controversy; “Rejoicing in the Lord,” pages 115-126, in Steps to Christ.

“The holy Son of God had no sins or griefs of his own to bear: he was bearing the griefs of others; for on him was laid the iniquity of us all.

Image @ Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Through divine sympathy he connects himself with man, and as the representative of the race he submits to be treated as a transgressor. He looks into the abyss of woe opened for us by our sins, and proposes to bridge the gulf of man’s separation from God.” — Ellen G. White, Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Aug. 1, 1892.

“Come, my brother, come just as you are, sinful and polluted. Lay your burden of guilt on Jesus, and by faith claim His merits. Come now, while mercy lingers; come with confession, come with contrition of soul, and God will abundantly pardon. Do not dare to slight another opportunity. Listen to the voice of mercy that now pleads with you to arise from the dead that Christ may give you light. Every moment now seems to connect itself directly with the destinies of the unseen world. Then let not your pride and unbelief lead you to still further reject offered mercy. If you do you will be left to lament at the last: ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’ ” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 353.

Discussion Questions:

Summary:

The covenant is not just some deep theological concept; instead, it defines the parameters of our saving relationship with Christ, a relationship that reaps us wonderful benefits now and at His return.

<–Thursday

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