Our guest speaker was Steve Andrews, Pastor of the Meadow Drive Baptist Church in Huntsville. He was the locksmith who opened a truck door for us, and I invited him to speak for Vespers.
Pastor Steve told how he walked away from preaching after 18 years. He drank alcohol and ended up homeless and losing his wife. His friend of over 20 years allowed him to sleep on the floor of his locksmith shop. Today He stills helps him out at times.
After 12 years on his run from the Lord , in the dark night of his despair, while contemplating suicide, he cried out and said, “Lord, I have let you down. I don’t know if you can ever use me again.”
That prayer led him back to the side door of a church. The leaders discovered his background, his ministerial degree, and his talent for preaching. He met a nurse with a love for Jesus and they were married. The members asked him to become their pastor and the rest is history.
His closing remarks to the men were, “You HAVE to surrender to God and admit you cannot do it yourself. Addiction is too big for us but not for God. We must allow Him to change our hearts. If He can use me, well, He can use anyone.”
The men were inspired and encouraged to hear the testimony of a man who went from a preacher to an alcoholic and back. It gave them hope for their future.
