God can step in at any moment to transform a life from anger and despair to hope through the power of His love. Kyle Otto shares how God met him in the darkest days of his life and revealed his love through a transforming moment he will never forget.
“I remember it very distinctly: when I was done praying, I just looked inside myself and I saw where, before there was something like a stone, like an object, of anger, this infuriated desire to retaliate that was there before was removed, and I couldn’t find it – it was just gone! I didn’t know what just happened – I didn’t know that was even possible.”
“In its place was this singular desire to love this girl – not like a romantic love, but just a wholehearted desire for her best. I wanted to forgive her.”
Kyle knew this hadn’t come from him; this was outside of him, beyond him.
“That was God – that was really Him! This means that God was real, and the whole time that I was running away from Him, and spitting in His face and calling Christians idiots – that He still loved me, and He was still running after me.”
“It was just like the prodigal son from Luke 15, and it finally made sense to me. It says that, the father, when the son comes back to him, while he was still a long way off, the father had compassion on him and ran out to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him, welcomed him back, and put a ring on his finger, symbolizing his belonging to the family.”
God demonstrated His love by calling Kyle back home.
“I finally decided: I experienced God in those moments when He transformed my life. He has the power to do that. He has the power to do anything He wants, and He can do this, too. So, I decided, I’m just going to trust him. I surrendered all those things to Him.”
Transformation didn’t happen overnight, but God’s love revealed in that moment began a process of change in Kyle’s life. Real change came down to a decision to respond to God’s love.
“It was step-by-step; but that was the moment, about seven years ago. Since then, those things have one-by-one got knocked down, and he broke those addictions off of me – every one of them. Because he is the God who breaks chains, and he did that for me.”
Kyle’s story is one of hope recovered by the power of God’s love. It is a story for anyone who has strayed from God and longs to come home. He is always looking for the one who is lost.
Kyle Otto is a minister currently working toward a Master of Divinity degree at University of Northwestern, with the goal of becoming a military chaplain. He was previously a Navigators chaplain volunteer for the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton and led a Military Outreach ministry at a church in San Diego, CA.
Transforming power of God's love
