In 2000, at the height of my alcoholism and despondency, I was living and working in Altoona Pennsylvania. I was 31 years old and had just come off the largest let-down in my life, to date, and I was personally bankrupt.
Professionally I was doing well, everything was taken care of. I had been quite successful as a young business man. I exceled quick, made heads turn, and was promoted from within to become a general manager of my own store in my mid-twenties. In fact, I was the youngest man ever to be promoted to GM in that multimillion dollar company with fifty-six stores in five states; a pretty big deal for me.
I always made things happen; turning losers into winners, bringing P&L’s from red to black, and became known as an agent of change and revitalization for failing stores. After several years of turning around losing stores in different states, unfortunately, for me the company I worked for went out of business. It was back to the bottom for me and now I was personally bankrupt and professionally destitute.
One evening I was drinking and driving around town, bar hopping as usual. In the middle of Altoona I noticed a very large, gothic architecture inspired church. I have no idea what the denomination was; I don’t even know if I understood denominationalism at that time, I was just very impressed with the building and recognized it as a House of God. I pulled over and parked in front of this wonderful building to mix myself another drink. I began speaking to God and told Him; “You know my resume sucks (in regard to me doing His work). I’m tired of this [life I’m living]. Let me come and work for you.” That’s all I said and I cried. Nothing special. Then, I drove off and commenced my night of drinking. Later, The Lord points out to me that He accepts my resume at that moment…I didn’t even know I had submitted one!
Over the next five years or so, I can now retrospectively look back and see that things began to change from that night on. He moved me back home to Maryland so I could heal with family. He placed me in a job that had me working closely with a mature Christian. Five to six years later Jesus called me to the ministry. The turn was not immediate, but these times and events had to happen so He could begin removing the Egypt out of me; from which, I am still being restored.
The reader may be wondering, “What does The Lord want with me?” Unfortunately, most never truly get to understand this in their time here on earth. Some want it now, but have no patience and quit. Some believe God isn’t working in their life, while He’s struggling against their Free Will. The story of the Hebrews coming out of Egypt is the best example of these things – read it (in light of this writing and your life)! This story doesn’t happen overnight. The Hebrew people lived in Egypt over 400 years. It took a while to convince Pharaoh to let them go. A generation had to die in the desert while God primed the next. Egypt had to die out of the people, completely, because the Promised Land (The Kingdom) couldn’t have been understood through the lens of the occult. What is the “Egypt” God is trying to remove from your life? Are you willing to let go and allow Him to overcome it? Allow Him to open your eyes!