I would like to talk about one of the biggest ways Satan is controlling and devouring the lives of young people today: through drugs.  Like the young man in Matthew 17, drugs lead to “severe suffering.” Drugs are Satan’s weapons.  They lead to addiction…suffering…the ruination of lives, and ultimately, the taking of lives.  In Matthew 17, Satan had this young man under his control, and he tormented him daily.  This boy was helpless, and so too, was his Dad, who desperately desired to see his boy set free.  Can you relate to this story?  It is strikingly similar to what drugs do to young people and their loved ones!

Based on my personal experience, I believe drugs are a demonic influence in our present generation. Drug use changes people’s personalities.  Drugs become the God in the user’s life.  Drugs ruin hopes and dreams.  They lead to legal consequences, jail, and prison.  Drugs tear families apart, and drugs claim lives on a daily basis.

I have personally witnessed the demonic power of drugs in my own family.  I have been a Christian since 1973.  I have pastored 6 churches in a span of 30 years.  I have been married for 34 years, and have four children and four grandchildren.  And yet I, like so many others, have become, as they say, “the face of addiction.”

You see, I was much like the Dad we meet in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 17.  In 2006, my son, Aaron began using drugs, and in a brief period of time, he became totally addicted. My son was an addict!  His life was out of control. Allow me to remind you about who Aaron was, and is. Aaron is a good kid with many fine qualities (caring, sensitive, humble, sincere, and loyal).  He became a Christian at a young age, and was raised in a loving, stable family in a small town. Aaron has always loved his family, his brothers and sister, parents and extended family. We are a very close-knit family. He was also an outstanding athlete-a 3 sport star in baseball, football, and basketball.  I truly believed he had a bright future in baseball in particular; he was so gifted as an athlete.

However, the demon of drugs got ahold of Aaron’s life.  For seven long years, I watched him suffer, and like the Dad in Matthew 17, I couldn’t help my son.  He quit all of his sports.  He dropped out of school.  He lost all of his true friends.  He got into legal trouble and became entangled in the legal system.  Aaron spent months in juvenile detention centers, and very lengthy periods of time in jail.  He could have gone to prison.  He was in and out of rehab facilities, and he overdosed on several occasions and nearly died on a number of instances.

By 2013, I was at the point of desperation. As I have shared previously, I thought my son was going to die and I began to prepare emotionally (if that is possible) for the loss of my child.  Finally, I came to the point of simply letting go and letting God.  There was nothing more I could do.  It was up to God, and Aaron.  Like the father in Matthew 17, I was desperate and all I could do was turn Aaron over to God.

Do you remember the heading I referenced above the passage in Matthew 17?  “A boy is healed.”  Well, in that biblical story, Jesus cast out a demon that was dwelling within that young man.  The boy was delivered and healed!  Jesus Christ has a power over the devil and his demon forces.

Today, the good news is that Aaron has been delivered and he has been healed by Jesus Christ.  Aaron finally reached the point where he truly wanted to be delivered and healed.  He was sick of being sick!  Jesus has performed yet another miracle, and I am so thankful to say that he has been totally clean for 10 months.  It’s a daily struggle, each day at a time, but thank God, my boy is healed.  This, my friends, is our story and I pray that it brings inspiration to you today!