A backslidden Christian expected punishment from God, but all he felt was the overwhelming love of God after re-encountering Him.
Backslidden Christian
Roy RJ Hale grew up in a family that became Christian when he was just a toddler. He was the eldest among five siblings and their parents serve the Church as pastors. Because he grew up in church, he received Jesus Christ when he was just 4 years old. He also became a leader as a kid and a part of the worship team. When he was 12, God called him into full-time ministry as a pastor.
“This why I’m here. I know this is my calling, and God set me apart. He marked me on that day.”
RJ continued preaching the Gospel to everyone around him during his high school years. But he soon backslid from his faith after he became a soccer player in his sophomore year in high school. He started smoking tobacco and fell into sexual sin after dating a non-Christian girl.
Delafe Testimonies [@delafetestimonies]. Roy Hale Testimony. YouTube, December 9, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YolE0pVVByA
Roy RJ Hale
After graduating from high school, he decided to be a firefighter to escape the calling God has for him. It was also during that time that he started drinking, partying, and experimenting with steroids. However, God pursued him in a very powerful way. During one church service, he attended, he re-encountered God.
“I was sitting in the back and the best way that I could describe it is I just started missing God,” RJ recalled. “I really just started to miss Him. I started having these flashbacks of like man, I was called. God I loved you. I had this sweet presence with you and now I’ve just blown it. I’ve become wicked; I’ve become lukewarm. I don’t even feel your presence anymore. And I remember having these thoughts in my head and then I just felt like God was just drawing me and just trying to pull me in.”
Now a Pastor
The pastor did an altar call, and RJ responded to it.
“When I walked up to that altar I was like expecting God to like spank me. I was expecting my Father to have like a lightning bolt right.”
He was expecting God to be angry by what he did, but instead, God showed him His unconditional love.
“That moment when the pastor is praying for me, all I felt was no punishment no anger. All I felt was just an overwhelming love of God.”
God forgave him at that moment and gave him his calling back. RJ soon left the fire service to become a minister in their church’s gym. He also experienced becoming a missionary in Tanzania and there his spirit has been awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today, RJ is now an ordained pastor and a father of four beautiful children. From being a backslidden Christian to now a passionate follower of Jesus Chris.
If you are reading this article and happen to also be a backslidden Christian, know that God loves you so much. No matter what you’ve done in the past, you can still turn back to where you have been called. It’s never too late to ask for forgiveness from the Lord.
Read also: SEMINARIAN STUDYING TO BECOME PRIEST ENCOUNTERS THE LORD & RECEIVES HEALING
Reference: YouTube | Delafe Testimonies
Header Image: Delafe Testimonies [@delafetestimonies]. Roy Hale Testimony. YouTube, December 9, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YolE0pVVByA