Going From Empty to Full
I was born in an oil-drilling town in Columbia. My dad worked for the state oil company, which sponsored my high school and technical degree. Growing up, my parents never took me to church, and I never heard anything about God. By the age of nineteen, I was working as a floor-hand far from home. By twenty-one, I had a wife and a daughter and had become a driller. Under the influence of friends, I fell into a pattern of using alcohol and prostitutes. My life began to unravel and I ended up alone. I lived that way for a few years.
One day Samuel Sierra, a godly man and the first Christian I met in the industry, came to my rig. Seeing the kind of lifestyle I was living, Samuel spoke to me and gave me a Bible. That day God touched my heart, but I didn’t know Him yet. I continued drinking every day.
One time, several days went by without me drinking a drop. And then I had a dream.
I saw Jesus Christ on a path at night. My heart was overwhelmed, and I thought, “What a great moment!” I wanted to know Jesus, so I tried to get to Him, but there were a lot of people in my way. I couldn’t reach Him. I ran and climbed a tree so that I could see Jesus. He looked back and said to me, “David, come down quickly!” Pointing to a Bible that He was holding in His left hand, He continued, “This Word is also for you.” Days later, I ended up alone and lived that way for years. I had two more dreams about Jesus. I understood that they came from God, but still my heart was hard.
I lost my job and returned to my parents’ house defeated and broke. My dad had just gotten sick, and he told me that he didn’t want to live any longer. One morning after waking up, I walked past the bathroom and saw blood coming out under the door. Dad had attempted suicide. We called an ambulance and took him to the hospital. When I came home, I locked myself in my room and cried bitterly. With my whole heart I asked God for forgiveness and promised Him that I would never again return to the sinful life that I had been living.
A new chapter of knowing the character and will of God began. I can now proudly say that God filled the emptiness of my heart. He showed me another kind of life that is available, a life the world can’t really see but in which there is true happiness. I really owe everything to Jesus. Today I long for my friends to know Jesus too. But God won’t force you into that, even though He’s God. That’s why Jesus said, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” (Revelation 3:20, page 000)
