SpiriseBible
From Addiction to Freedom
David Chen's Journey from Death's Door to Abundant Life
David Chen
Former Addict, Now Addiction Recovery Pastor
"For 20 years, I was a slave. Today, I help others find the freedom I discovered in Christ."
My name is David Chen, and I'm a miracle. Not the kind you read about in ancient texts, but a walking, breathing testimony that God still delivers today. This is my story.
"I took my first drink at 13, at my cousin's wedding. That warm feeling, that escape from my parents' fighting, from the pressure of being the 'perfect Asian son'—it felt like freedom. I had no idea I was walking into a prison that would hold me for two decades."
Weekend drinking, maintaining straight A's, fooling everyone including myself. "I can stop anytime."
College introduced drugs. Alcohol wasn't enough. Lost my scholarship, dropped out, lost my first job, then my second.
Lost my wife, my kids, my home. Living on the streets. Stealing from my own mother. Three overdoses.
Rock Bottom - March 15, 2018
I woke up in a hospital bed, machines beeping, tube down my throat. The nurse said I'd been dead for 4 minutes. My mother sat in the corner, aged 10 years from worry. She wasn't crying anymore—she'd run out of tears.
"The doctor said my liver was failing. My heart was damaged. I was 33 years old and dying. But worse than the physical pain was seeing my reflection—I didn't recognize the skeleton staring back. Where was the honor student? The promising young man? I was a ghost haunting my own life."
The hospital chaplain was making rounds. An elderly Black woman with kind eyes and a worn Bible. I told her to leave—I'd disappointed enough people; I didn't need to disappoint God too.
"She sat down anyway. 'Baby,' she said, 'God's not disappointed in you. He's waiting for you.' Then she told me about her son—20 years clean, now a pastor. She said, 'If God can save my William, He can save you.' Something broke inside me. For the first time in years, I cried."
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
- Matthew 11:28 (KJV)
She read this verse, and I felt something I hadn't felt in 20 years—hope.
March 16, 2018 - 3:17 AM
Alone in that hospital room, I surrendered. No fancy prayer, just broken words from a broken man: "God, if You're real, if You can hear me, please help me. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to die."
What happened next changed everything.
"I felt warmth flood my body—not like alcohol, but like being wrapped in love itself. The craving that had consumed me for 20 years... disappeared. Not reduced, not manageable—gone. The doctors couldn't explain it. The next day's tests showed my liver functioning normally. My heart rhythms stabilized. Medical staff used words like 'unexplainable' and 'miraculous.'"
But the physical healing was just the beginning. God was about to restore everything the addiction had stolen.
Before Christ
- Homeless for 3 years
- Estranged from family
- $50,000 in debt
- Criminal record
- No hope, no purpose
- Dying at 33
After Christ
- Stable home and job
- Reconciled with family
- Debt free
- Record expunged
- Licensed addiction counselor
- Thriving at 40
Recovery wasn't instant, but the chains were broken. I entered a Christian rehabilitation center where I learned not just to live sober, but to live abundantly.
Daily Bible study, therapy, learning to feel again. Hardest part: forgiving myself.
First supervised visit with my children. My daughter, now 10, said, "Daddy, your eyes are different. They're alive."
God called me to help others find freedom. Enrolled in addiction counseling program.
God's Multiplication - 7 Years Later
Present Day Ministry
Today, I serve as Lead Recovery Pastor at New Life Community Church. Our "Freedom Ministry" meets every Thursday—over 200 attending weekly. We've opened three recovery houses and partnered with 15 treatment centers.
My wife Sarah (we remarried in 2021) serves alongside me. My children, now teenagers, share their testimony of getting their dad back. My mother? She leads our prayer team. The woman who once planned my funeral now prays for resurrection in other families.
A Message to You
If you're reading this in bondage—whether to substances, behaviors, or secrets—please hear me: You are not too far gone. I was dead, and Christ gave me life. I was enslaved, and He set me free. I was hopeless, and He became my hope.
The same Jesus who walked into my hospital room is waiting to walk into your situation. He's not afraid of your mess. He's not shocked by your struggle. He's not too holy for your honest cry for help.
Your addiction may be strong, but our God is stronger. Your story isn't over—it's about to begin.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
Will you let Him set you free today?
If David's testimony stirred something in your heart, if you're tired of bondage and ready for freedom, pray this simple prayer:
"Jesus, I'm like David was—broken, addicted, hopeless. But I believe You can save me too. I surrender my addiction, my pain, my life to You. Set me free. Make me new. I receive Your love, Your forgiveness, Your power to change. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Seven years ago, I was planning my suicide. Today, I'm planning our ministry's expansion to help more souls find freedom. That's the power of our God—He doesn't just save us FROM something; He saves us FOR something.
My name is David Chen. I was an addict. Now I'm a son, a father, a husband, a pastor, and living proof that no one is beyond the reach of God's transforming love.
Your breakthrough is one surrender away.
