Justin

“I got stabbed 13 times — including twice in the eye — and when I came to, I felt someone lift me up, but when I looked, there was no one there.”

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What they struggled with

Drug addiction Father wound Shame Loneliness / isolation Backsliding

False refuges

Drugs Achievement / fitness Power / status / wealth

What this story reveals about God

Relentless pursuit Patience Father's heart Faithful to his word Restorer Shepherd's heart

Religious background

Protestant Christian

Main testimony theme

Secondary theme

Deepening Faith

How they came to faith

Supernatural encounter Relational influence

Content advisory

Before you watch

This testimony contains street violence, a near-fatal stabbing that cost Justin his right eye, and years of drug dealing and backsliding. What makes it worth watching is the specificity of how God answered a prayer Justin had already abandoned — and the moment at an altar when Jesus stepped in front of a young man who had given up on himself.

What this story teaches

People who feel unwanted don't stop needing to belong — they just find more dangerous places to look for it. When the streets finally failed Justin, God was already waiting with an answer to a prayer Justin had forgotten he prayed.

How God moved

The lie Justin carried

Maybe things are my fault, maybe I'm unwanted — just being Justin wasn't enough because I didn't feel valued by my mother or father.

What Jesus showed him

Justin believed his authentic self — just being Justin — was unwanted, unvalued, and not enough. He masked himself behind a street identity built on reputation and illegal activity because he never received the love and presence he needed from his mother and father.

Go Deeper

Know that you matter in spite of any lack of quality time or anything that you may contribute as something that has caused for you to go astray. Know that you matter and that your life is worth more than what you currently may see it as and don't waste it away for something that is temporary and instead choose something that's eternal and that's Jesus. I mean I know this is cliche but it only leads two ways — prison or death. With Jesus it's eternal and I don't have to do anything extra to feel fulfilled in life.

People who feel unwanted don't stop needing to belong — they just find more dangerous places to look for it. When the streets finally failed Justin, God was already waiting with an answer to a prayer Justin had forgotten he prayed.

What you can take from this

If you have been building an identity out of what people think of you — your reputation, your hustle, your image — ask yourself this week: what would be left of me if all of that was gone? Then sit with that question honestly.

Core lie

I started to feel like maybe things are my fault, maybe I'm unwanted. My thoughts on what love is and just my value as a whole started to shift. I didn't feel like my identity just being Justin was enough because I didn't feel valued by them.

Progressive entrapment

I remember the first time I smoked marijuana and that just opened up the door to a whole bunch of different things. It was a feeling I just had to run back to — that caused me to dive deeper into getting involved in the streets.

Family weaponisation

I put my loyalty, my trust, my love into these guys because they were giving me that feeling of love that I longed for. I had an identity with them — and that one moment broke it up. I went through all of that on my own.

Counterfeit intimacy

When I was in the streets what I was attracted to was making a name for myself mainly because I didn't feel like my identity just being Justin was enough. People would be attracted to the name that you make for yourself doing illegal activity.

1

I literally kneel down on the ground at the foot of my bed and just pray — I just started praying that Jesus would come into my heart, that he would transform me from the inside out and make me an example to those that are around me.

2

I threw away everything that was in my home — I threw away all the alcohol, I threw away all the drugs, I threw away weapons, all of that stuff. And all of that to me was money — this is my identity right here — but I threw all of that stuff away without any hesitation.

3

I raised my hand and I was just brutally honest — I hear everything saying about how Jesus loves me, how he cares about me, but when I walk out of these doors I don't trust myself. I know for a fact cuz I did it before.

4

I just got down on my knees and just started praying a repentant prayer of just forgiveness and just saying — Lord I didn't wasted all these years doing what I wanted to do instead of living for you.

5

Lord I will never ever make a decision to turn away from you again.

Justin made a declaration to follow God, backslid into the streets, then returned — and God received him back, having kept his original prayer.

Justin lost his right eye to a stabbing; God later showed him the scripture about plucking out the offending eye as a personal word.

Justin was living in rebellion, experienced a dramatic physical crisis, then encountered Jesus and was radically redirected into ministry.

Justin's Christian Walk

Went back to school and graduated with an engineering degree. Got married and has two young sons. Threw away all drugs, alcohol, and weapons without hesitation. Stopped selling drugs, drinking, fornicating, and fighting. Healed from insecurities and the need to mask himself. Called to ministry.

All of the things that were making me want to live a different lifestyle were now gone and it was just me and Jesus and his love.

smoking, drinking, fornicating — 'I'm not smoking no more, I'm not drinking anymore, I'm not fornicating anymore, I'm not doing any of the things that I used to do anymore'

I'm not smoking no more, I'm not drinking anymore, I'm not fornicating anymore, I'm not doing any of the things that I used to do anymore. I threw away all the alcohol, all the drugs, weapons — all of that. Healed from insecurities and masking myself.

Prayer

The power of Prayer — cousin stood in the gap for Justin.

His cousin, a solid and unashamed follower of Jesus, persistently talked to him and preached to him about not needing to smoke or live the way he was living. One day she asked him directly on the phone: 'Justin, if you were to die today, where would you go?' — a question that broke through and led him to kneel at his bed and pray for the first time in years. Later, his friend Sam invited him to a ministry boot camp by mentioning there would be free food — the moment God used to set everything up for Justin's full surrender.

Is today your day?

Yes — I'm Ready

Absolutely, He will.

You don't have to figure everything out right now.

You don't need to have all the answers.

If something stirred in your heart while you were watching or reading — that's not nothing.

That is the Holy Spirit gently knocking on the door of your heart.

Stay right here. There's no rush. The Spirit doesn't pressure or hurry.

Watch another video. Read a little more. Take your time.

When you're ready — even if “ready” just means a little curious — Jesus is ready to meet you.

You don't have to clean up your life first.

You don't have to pass any test.

You only need to say a simple “yes” to Him.

He will take care of the rest.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Luke 11:9

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