6 Overdoses. Jail. Needles. Now He's a Child of the most High God | You Are Loved

- Okay, my name's Jordan Shambler. I'm from a small town in East Tennessee, called Rosville. Most people won't know where that's at. I usually just tell them from Athens, 'cause nobody knows where that's at. I have two brothers. My loving mother and father, my dad's passed away. He passed away, he died from addiction. His DLC, if you will, was alcohol. And he lost his battle with that, you know? He just never figured out the one, the only, well, the one and only thing that would, that good segment from that, you know, and that was turning to Jesus. And I watched him struggle with that to his grave. So, to be here in the program that I'm in, to be here that saved him is pretty huge for me, so. - That's awesome. - Yeah. - We're glad you're here. - Yeah, good to be here. - Tell us a little bit about your story and what led you to getting to the program. - Okay. So, a little bit of my story, where do you start? As a young teenager, I started to have on end drugs. By '14, I did most any drug you could think of. Six or eight different overdoses and suicide attempts. Probably by the age of 16. And like, I just remember several times

just waking up like, "Oh man, I've done it again. "I've done it again." And just, I dropped out of school. And I just had this feeling of just worthlessness, you know, and just hopelessness. Like, I just didn't see my life going anywhere. But I would treasure on, and there was some very lonely years in between about the age of, well from the time my parents got divorced, I had about the age of 11 and between there and about 18 was pretty rough for me. Obviously, my mom moved away and we moved around a lot, but we just had very little supervision and we just kind of did whatever we wanted, you know. So looking back, it was a really dark time in my life. And I actually knew from a young age, and even my dad used to tell me that I had a call on my life. And he didn't say that I might. He said that I did, you know. Although he struggled with what he struggled with, he was a good man. He was a loving father and he had a good heart. And he knew the Lord, you know. He just never could figure out how to get away from, you know, his addiction. So I understand his struggle and it's hard, you know. But I had children, I had my son about the age of 21. That helped some, you know. It gave me some purpose, you know. I love my children. So that gave me some drive for some years.

I also have two older children that aren't biologically mine that I assisted in raising, you know. I love them, just as they were my own. But, you know, I don't know what they were. I don't know, so that was my drive for a long time. And I did, what's the word I'm looking for? I did just enough to get by. I was still using, I was still drinking myself to sleep most every night, just like my dad had. Like I'd saw him do most of his life. So that was normal to me. Among other things that I thought were normal, you know. Right. But like I said, I always knew I had a call on my life. And in a sense, I was really just running, I was running from that. But at the same time, as silly as it may sound, I didn't necessarily know, I didn't have the tools that I feel like that were necessary to have that relationship with God that I've started to build since I've got the true purpose. The past couple of years were really rough. Me and the mother of my children split up. I lost my children. Her mom has custody of them. I had gotten carpal tunnel real bad because I just worked so much. I worked like three jobs, just doing too much physically, just doing the most, and your body can just take so much. So after losing my house and all and my relationship

with my family and basically throwing all by out the window for drugs basically. There came a time here, just not very long ago, I guess about four or five months ago where like I knew that I could feel that I couldn't put a finger on it when I was like, something is about to come to any end. And I've got to make a decision, you know? And I would try in ways, I would try not to do drugs and lay around and be sick for a couple days and just never could accomplish it. I'd tried going to a non-faith base rehab in the past, it didn't work. And I was about to go again, hear about, I guess about four and a half months or so ago and it came the day for me to leave and the van was on the way to pick me up and I was just like, no, I'm not going. I just couldn't find no peace about it 'cause I knew it hadn't worked for me before. I was like, I know there's something out there that could help me, you know? After not going to the non-faith base rehab, I was in the garage of a dope house one night. And me and the guy were just sitting there chopping it up and he's like, have you ever heard of True Purpose Ministries and like I just snapped my finger and I was like, dude, that's the one, the hairs on my arms stood up and like I just knew like as quick as it came out of his mouth, I was like, that's it.

- You're at a dope house and the guy you're doing drugs with is telling you about a recovery ministry, that's incredible, wow. - Yeah, so he will meet you exactly where you're at. So I was like, okay, no, I haven't but I'm pretty sure that's the one. That's why I didn't go to this other one. I was waiting on that, and so the Lord can use you wherever you're at. I had just gotten out of jail and the Lord had spoke to me in jail and told me some of the things that he wanted me to do and it involved ministry. He said, I want you to do this. And like, start kind of looking around, you know, because only once before I had I ever just like heard his voice so plainly, and I was like, wow, that's wild. I was like, okay, you know. And, but I sounded like Moses. I started making excuses, you know. You know, Moses would talk about, you know, I've got a speech impediment in this. I was like, Lord, I'm not qualified, you know. I dropped out of school, I don't have a high school diploma. You know, how do you expect me to do all these things? And he was silent, you know, 'cause he had said what he, he said what he meant. That's why he does, you know. He says what he means and he means what he says. And I was like, okay, I get it, you know, and that silence said everything to me.

It was like, oh, you know, I get it. And then as I started really analyzing it in my past, you know, I was like, maybe I am qualified. And that's that spirit of rejection that I still probably, I'm still dealing with today, some from my past. You know, it's a process, working through some of this stuff, interhealing and whatnot. Man, it's wild. Like he's put things on my heart about being involved in ministry and stuff, but just in the few things that we do like, we go when we work the games and stuff, you know, I'm doing cash. So I'm working the register one night at the UT game. A pastor had walked up. And I told him my little line or whatever. He's like, oh, that's cool, man. You know, where are you guys from? And I told him, you know, we're from the Marival campus or whatever, and somehow or another, lot of these non-faith-based rehabs, like you'll get in a circle, right? And you go around and you introduce yourself. And after you introduce yourself as an addict, you know, and that's what he was getting to. And he was like, "I just don't like that part, you know, where you--" I was like, "Hold up. Just let me stop you right there." I said, "I'm a new creation and I'm a child of the most high God." I said, "I'm no longer an addict, you know." And I saw his wife, like, she got this big smile on her face and her head turned sideways, like, "What?" You know, there's something different about these guys, you know. And like I've seen that look a few times since I've been here. And it's never when I talk about anything that I've done. It's always when I talk about what the Lord is doing through me, you know. He's been able to use me basically everywhere we go.

It's amazing. And even on the campus, you know, I just be minding my own business just up in the sanctuary, just in the Word, listening to praise and worship. The guy that cooks her food, he's rolling through there one evening. He's like, "Hey man, I want you to know something." He's like, "I draw inspiration from that, you know." And I'm just working on my relationship with the Lord just, you know. But with that being said, if you look at how He was able to use me just a few months into the program, you know, if He's able to use me that way, you know. I mean, He wants to use you, you know, wherever you're at, you know. So that has been a really huge blessing to me. And I feel more blessed. I think then probably the people that I encounter about it, you know, just being able to share the Word and share, you know, what the love of the Father has done for me and where it has brought me. And what has brought me out of, you know. Just like I was saying, I've just been here for three months. I mean, three months ago I was eating out of dumpsters, sticking niggles in my arm. It's amazing that you said it was just four or five months ago maybe when you were sitting in jail and the Lord spoke to you. And I can just imagine you're sitting in jail, you made a mess of things, right? And the Lord says, "I'm going to use you in ministry." And I'm sure the thoughts going through your mind were like, "There's no way." And just a few months later, He's using you in ministry, right? And it's such a beautiful picture of how He doesn't need our lives to be all put together. He doesn't need everything to be perfect. He just needs us to say, "Okay, I'm going to give you my life then and do what you want with it." Yeah. And it's not even like you have to study for years and get a degree and you just have to be obedient and say, "Use me." And He is. Right. And that is so cool. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. And so like if nothing else, if nobody takes anything else from this today, I would just like to say one thing, like to the people that are locked up. It's like, I know what it felt like. Like I'd been laying in jail for 12 days when He spoke that to me. And it's hard to understand that that's God's way of loving you right now. Sometimes it's a tough love, but He brought me out of a life of sin and despair and just a mess. And when I went to jail, you know what I'm saying? He put me in a safe place. Yes. Had I not went to jail? Lord only knows. Right. You know? But that is God's divine love that puts you there. I believe that. And there's going to come a day where they're going to say, "Bag and baggage and they're going to

call your name and you're going to have a decision to make. And the devil is going to try to grab you by your throat as soon as you hit that gate. He will. Just don't give you into that. Find a faith-based program if you can and dig in. And just try to find And that's who God really is because He loves you and He does to you. - Absolutely, that's good. - 'Cause he's done wonders for me, and it's just been three months, so. - Yeah, just wait. - Yeah. - Wait another year from now. - That's true. - And imagine what it's gonna be like, and there's gonna be restoration and redemption, and it's gonna be awesome. - Yeah. - Yeah. - That really? - But all the things you'll do, and while you're waiting for that, right? - Right. - Every day. - Yeah. - He can use you in some way. - Yeah. - As you grow closer to him. - Yeah. - That's good. - That's fine. - So I wanna just talk for a second about love before we wrap up,

because I think that the enemy has certainly done an amazing job of twisting our understanding of what that word is, and what it means, and what it looks like. - Sure. - And so I always like to ask, what did you think love was? But today, now that you have experienced that gracious love of God, what does it look like to you today? How would you, what would the difference be in your definitions of love back then to today? - Okay, I guess my definition of love, you know, then, honestly, from how I grew up, and watching my dad work, love, the word love from a man's perspective, was almost solely just being a provider. You know, it wasn't really showing the heart of the father, and letting that reflect through you, you know, like a man of God should, you know, he wants us to be compassionate, you know, with our family, and let him know that we love him, and not just our family, but just everyone we encounter, really, you know. I don't really know how to put the love of the father, like into really good, you know,

and really good words. I don't know how to explain that. I know what it feels like. I try to convey that, you know. I try to mirror that home to others as best I can, you know, but I'm still learning, but it is a beautiful thing, and he does love us, you know. It's nothing like what you experience in this world, is it? No. Yeah, it's almost undescribable. That, yeah. Absolutely. It really is. Well, that's excellent. Is there anything else that I didn't ask you, that you wanted to say to anyone, or any of your story that I failed to ask? I'm satisfied. Good. Well, I'm really grateful that you came, especially so new, into the program, just your willingness to be able to be used, and to share your story, because I know it's gonna reach people out there, especially those sitting in jail, or those who were just broken and lost and think God can't use them. Just say, "Look at this." Right. It's a beautiful story, so thank you for sharing that.

Yeah, you're welcome. Awesome. Thank you for having me.