Paul Fyffe: Salvation, Wilderness, and Restoration
/Paul Fyffe is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and attends Life Fellowship. He is married and has four children, and he currently serves on our baptism team. In this post he shares his testimony: how Christ saved him, his later struggle with drug addiction, and how Christ healed and restored him to the body after his repentance.
Salvation...
I was born in 1982 and was raised in a loving Christian home. Our local church was KCBT where we attended faithfully many times a week. My parents were involved in ministry as they still are today at MBT. I got saved in 1988 at the age of six. I remember calling on the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sin and give me eternal life (Romans 6:23).
That night on my and my brother’s bunk bed, convicted with tears in my eyes, I called my father into our bedroom. That night my dad led me to the Lord. I was born again into a spiritual birth (John 3:7, 1 Peter 1:23). My dad did not save me; Jesus did. See, I knew my sin separated me from a Holy God who was ready to forgive (Psalm 86:5). For the next ten years I followed Christ, continued to be established in the local church, always loved church camps and coming home full of faith and witnessing for the Lord.
Wilderness...
Around the age of 16 I got involved with a lost crowd. I was unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). Who you walk with determines who you are and where you are going (Proverbs 13:20). If you don’t want to fall, don’t walk on slippery slopes. Because I was saved, I wrestled with spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12). The devil wants to devour our devotion to God. Our adversary is persistent; he attacks where we are weak, and our flesh is always weak (Romans 8:17). Likewise, the enemy is always at work (1 Peter 5:8).
God’s word says to be sober and vigilant. I got far from sober. I moved out of my parents’ house and in with my friend. My life turned into a party and was far from the word of God and his church. I found myself under the stronghold of drugs. I experimented with and tried everything the world offered, but it got real once I was addicted to meth for many years, followed by opiates for many more. This is a recipe for destruction, and it’s happening in the lives of a lot of people I care about right now.
It was no longer about getting high. I had to have it to function and not be sick. They absolutely controlled my mind morning, noon and night. It was a lifestyle. Addiction is something you glue your mind to continuously; you cannot easily come out of it.
I could go on and on about substance abuse, craziness, stories and so on, but I would rather write about the grace and everlasting mercy (Psalm 100:5) of Jesus Christ and how thankful I am that he didn’t bring me home early, although he had every right to. It’s dangerous to live in continual, unrepentant sin (Galatians 6:7). For a long time I wanted out, but I just couldn’t do it by myself.
Addiction is a very real and powerful thing. Satan is such a strong power that only a stronger power can give us victory. That power comes from the Holy Spirit of God. The only way to conquer Satan in the battle is to surrender to God (James 4:7, Proverbs 28:1).
Here is what surrender looks like practically:
Get up in the morning and read your Bible (Psalm 63:1, Mark 1:35). Present your mind to God for spiritual renewal.
Meditate on God’s word day and night (Psalm 1:2)
During this time, I realized I needed a hobby outside of narcotics. I hunted and fished a little here and there, but in 2008 I purchased my first deer tag and fell in love with God’s creation. I became an avid hunter of everything in season and fished in between. I currently fur trap as a part-time job. The outdoors helped with the battle, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:58). The word of God heals people (Psalm 107:20).
As I write this, I’m grieving the loss of my friend. Just yesterday we went to his family farm in southern Missouri, where we’d spent many weekends together, to spread his ashes. He lost the battle with drug addiction. I am grateful for God’s victory in my life, but burdened for those who are still trapped. They need to be healed by the word and the Spirit.
Recovered…
...out of the snare of the devil (2 Timothy 2:26). I became sober, and since then God has restored me.
Some years ago my family invited me to MBT. My wife and I started attending and became members. With the influence of our student ministry, conviction, and Mitch Medlin, my oldest son got saved and baptized.
At Mission Focus ‘16, Steven Scibelli preached and God really got my attention. I rededicated my life to Christ and repented from my sin. At All-Church Retreat the next year, Mark Trotter preached on a wasted life, and this was monumental. I am un-wasting my life, forgetting the things which are behind and pressing on (Philippians 3:13-14). I had to release to receive (Ephesians 4:22-24).
My wife and I went through discipleship, I’m currently in D2, and I attend Bible study at the Grashers’ house. God currently has me in the baptism ministry. I say these things not to puff myself up, but to say that God is worthy! He is moving in my life. Two years ago he gave me a great job with the city and got me out of a bad spot.
I have a greater desire to study God’s word (2 Timothy 2:15). I want to be wise, bold, and bear good fruit (Proverbs 11:30). Time is short, for the fashion of this world passeth away (1 Corinthians 7:29-31). The days of our years are numbered, and our lives are even a vapor (Psalm 90:10, James 4:14). There is no time for foolish living.
I’ve been happily married for six years and have four children. I want to live for the Lord, love my wife, and raise my kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). I am so grateful for my parents and for a Bible-believing, disciple-making church that teaches truth. Most of all, I am grateful for the cross (1 Peter 2:21). We are called to live Christ’s example: because he suffered for and loved us, we should follow in his steps for others.