Saved From Addiction: Chad Roberts’ Testimony

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

Beginning at a young age, Chad Roberts’ life was one of addiction, drug dealing, theft, and general destruction, but (as he put it) “then Jesus came along.” Roberts’ story is now one of redemption, and A Hand Up Ministry is one of the ways the Lord intervened in his life.

Thinking back to his childhood in Dekalb County, Ala., Roberts said, “If you think of someone being as mean as the devil, that was my dad. If you brought a Bible into our house, he would rip it into pieces. He definitely made sacrifices to the devil. Growing up in that, I didn’t know anything about God.”

Roberts’ mother left when he was about six years old, fearing for her life, but he stayed with his dad to be near his grandparents. “She’d had enough of him beating on her. She had to go or he would’ve killed her, there’s no doubt,” he recalled somberly.

His father then brought him into the world of drug addiction and production. He gave Roberts a marijuana plant to tend to and money from the resulting marijuana sales. He taught him to drink alcohol. When Roberts was about 12, his father gave him his first joint. By age 16, Roberts was selling marijuana himself and was already addicted to the money and popularity that this lifestyle brought.

As a child, he was unaware of the dangerous power of these substances. “It was just what Dad was doing,” he said, “and I never saw him get in trouble for the things he’d done. I saw him have all the power and friends and people wanting to be around him because he always had drugs. It caught my attention.”

Until going through A Hand Up, Roberts didn’t have an accurate understanding of his childhood trauma. “At the time, I didn’t realize I was hurt. After going through A Hand Up and looking back, I see the childhood issues and hurts and feeling unloved.”

Eventually, his father introduced Roberts to methamphetamine, showing him how to snort it. Roberts said, “Right then, I knew I’d messed up because of the way it made me feel indestructible. A couple weeks later, he hit me with the needle for the first time. After that, it was all downhill.”

Roberts finished high school. Realizing that the only way out of his situation was to get away, he joined the Marines. However, when his father died, he returned home for the funeral, and his dad’s friends pulled him right back into the old lifestyle. “I had all the connections that he had. I was sucked right back into the drug world and that lifestyle.”

Roberts was arrested in Dekalb for manufacturing meth, and he went through drug court. “I stayed sober long enough to get through their program, then I was right back at it,” he explained. “The whole lifestyle was addictive itself. Always runnin’, always got whatever you wanted. You don’t have no worries in the world other than the police kicking your door in.”

Roberts’ life was peppered with seasons of stability, like when he was in the Marines, but each return to addiction and drug dealing was worse than the previous time. He got married, had two children with his wife, and worked good jobs, but he said, “They weren’t enough.”

Roberts began selling and using crystal meth and was arrested again. While in jail, his wife left with the kids. Once released, he began dating another woman, and together, they had a son. This time around, Roberts’ tactic was to limit himself to only using marijuana.

However, “These relationships couldn’t compare to the stronghold the addiction and lifestyle had on me,” he explained. “I was selfish. Growing up, I never had the things most kids have, so when I got to where no one could control me, I only cared about pleasing myself. I didn’t care who I hurt. I loved my family, but they weren’t enough to keep me straight, and I put them through the wringer.”

Meanwhile, his girlfriend began praying to God and looking for a church to attend. She started going to Greater Vision in Hammondville, Ala. near their home. Roberts went with her once, but because of his negative reaction and disbelief, she felt like he was mocking her faith.

When telling his story, Roberts paused and took a deep breath. “But then Jesus came along,” he said. “One Tuesday night, I felt like something smacked me across the face in the middle of the night. I rise up in bed and there’s this still silence in our room. God said, ‘It’s me, you idiot, and I’m real.’ I’d never read the Bible, never knew nothing about God, but I immediately knew it was God. There was no doubt. He said, ‘Just believe.’”

Roberts heard the Lord tell him to return to the church and that the pastor would be waiting for him at the door. While confused at this supernatural experience and not entirely sure of what was happening in his life, Roberts took his kids back to Greater Vision that Wednesday (his girlfriend still thinking he was mocking her faith).

The pastor was waiting for Roberts at the door. Roberts prayed with the pastor, accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and immediately, he felt a change in his desires. “I stopped cussing, stopped having any desire to use drugs, and my whole life flipped right there.”

The family experienced stability and peace as Roberts went through several months of spiritual growth. He recalled, “At that time, I was absolutely growing in the Lord, but the enemy saw what was happening. The pastor told me that he knew my faith was strong but I needed to be careful of the enemy because he was fixin’ to attack. I’d lived my whole life doing the enemy’s work without even realizing it, and now he didn’t like the change in me.”

Sure enough, a job change brought temptation. Roberts’ new coworkers used drugs in front of him, and working long hours weakened him mentally and physically. “I didn’t realize that this was a trap the devil was setting for me. He didn’t do it all at once. He’d cut a little bit here and a little there, like making me work long hours so I’m tired and my head wasn’t in it. And they’d ask me to work on Sunday and I’d give in, so now I’ve chosen money over God. I let him pull me away slowly and tell me the lies that it was me doing all of this instead of God. I got conceited, forgetting that Jesus is who pulled me out of that lifestyle and gave me everything. Once I reached that thinking, I didn’t think using once would be a problem. Eventually, I gave in, and everything fell apart.”

Roberts reached a new low, losing his job, family, and home. “I was miserable. I wanted to die.” For the first time in his life, he had experienced the peace that comes from a relationship with Jesus, so the drastic change hit him worse than previous times. He attempted to overdose, and he broke into homes hoping that someone would be waiting to shoot him. He was living with everything he owned in his car, using meth, and stealing to eat.

Roberts explained that before God entered his life, he had no remorse for his actions because he was taught that this was a normal way to live. “From watching my dad, I learned that it was okay as long as you don’t get caught.” However, once the Lord saved him, he felt remorse and shame, and attempts to block those feelings only drove him deeper into addiction. “I felt like I’d let Jesus and my family down.”

Robbing a store just across the state line in Dade County eventually led him to A Hand Up Ministry, first with a stint in the Dekalb County Detention Center before being extradited to the Dade County Jail.

While Roberts was at Dekalb, a pastor came to the jail. “I don’t know if he knew that the message was for me, but he said that God’s given somebody in here one more chance at life,” Roberts recalled. He fell to his knees, weeping, and once again, his desire to use drugs disappeared. He began reading the Bible intently while in jail.

After three months, he was extradited to Dade. He admitted to the robbery, begged to enter rehab and receive treatment, began praying that God would make a way, and led Bible studies with the other inmates.

Rex Mayo (founder/director of A Hand Up) came to the jail and told Roberts about the ministry. Mayo prayed that God would open doors that needed to be opened and close doors that needed to be closed. Roberts’ final deal from the judge was that he would be on probation for 20 years and go through A Hand Up.

He said, “My mind was made up before I got to Hand Up that I was ready for a new life, but I didn’t know how to live a regular life as a productive citizen. Hand Up taught me how to get up every morning, spend time with God, go to work, pay my bills. I didn’t have that structure ever taught to me before.”

The ministry also gave Roberts spiritual structure through regular biblical teaching and worship. Mentors and teachers played a significant part in his growth. He finished the program in October 2022 and completed three months of aftercare.

With A Hand Up providing a connection, Roberts began working in maintenance at Trenton Pressing in October 2022. While still in the program, he joined the jail ministry. His church is Trenton Ministry Center.

Now, he has relationships with his kids, and there has even been healing with his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend. Roberts said, “Now, I can call and get my kids whenever. Before, their mommas wouldn’t allow me to be around them without someone supervising.”

The Lord has also worked in the life of Roberts’ mother, and he is thankful that their relationship has experienced growth and renewal.

Roberts doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulty and continued struggles of life. “There’s been times that I’ve wanted to give up, I’m not gonna lie.” he said. “It’s been hard, but now I know where to turn to and to keep stepping. Rex instilled that in us–keep stepping, and fall to the feet of Jesus, fall to the feet of Jesus. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, but Jesus used A Hand Up to teach me how to live a successful life.”

Roberts speaks highly of the leadership at the Dade County Jail. “Captain and Sheriff are great men. They want Jesus in that jail, and they stand behind A Hand Up and Celebrate Recovery because they see the impact.” (Celebrate Recovery is a gospel-based 12-step program used by A Hand Up.)

While Roberts had his mind set on a new life before beginning A Hand Up, he reported that he’s seen others who were skeptical or less committed when entering but who still had great success through the program.

He explained, “Jesus is our recovery, and He uses Hand Up and this community. There’s people that stand in and help with Hand Up and Hope House because they see that it’s making an impact and they have a heart for people to change. They don’t judge you for what you’ve done before. Sometimes people just need to feel wanted and like they have a chance, and this community does that. I stand with them, and I’m proud of that.”

Roberts concluded, “Even though I’m now a ‘productive citizen,’ it’s not me who’s good. The only thing good in me is Jesus. Me without him, I’m a menace.”