Abscessed

How does heroin use lead to an abscess?  This man told me that’s what put him in the hospital.  “The doctor told me it’s probably because I share needles,” he reported rather matter-of-factly, though our conversation became far more than factual.  For a 28-year-old I’d known only 5 minutes, he divulged his story quite openly.  “I don’t want to go back,” he continued, “and I really don’t know much about praying.  And I’m still fighting the withdrawals.”  Yet he spoke clearly and seemed so grateful for someone to listen.  “My buddy’s got abscesses on his chest, and I told him it’s because of our needles.”  And as this man in the hospital bed pleaded with emotion, I spoke into his eyes, “Do you know how much Jesus loves you?”  His eyes veered away, perhaps feeling a weight of blessing.  No matter the battle, whether drugs or other, Jesus’ power can conquer.  He offers us rest, telling us it’s only when we choose against Him that we cannot enter that rest.  Hebrews 3:19 reads, “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.”  Today this man’s story inspired me because he was already looking upward.  Jesus can save him from his drug battle and ultimately all his battles, yet each of us faces the same choice to ask the Lord into our heart as Savior.  Today the man allowed me to give him a small Gideons Bible.  And I am so happy to continue praying on his behalf.