Meet Ben Comstock
Amazing does not even describe where I am and who I’ve become over the past nine years that I’ve spent falling in love with and pursuing God. But the road leading up to that point was a twisted and bumpy one…
My three siblings and I were raised by my mom with the help of my grandmother. They both did their best to keep us in church and we had a happy early childhood. When I was eleven, my mom met a man in church, and they married four months later. Not long after they married, that same man became abusive to me and my whole life began to shatter.
I was scared to go home and would try to stay away as much as possible. I began to make bad choices, putting myself around the wrong people and in the wrong places. When I turned sixteen, I found myself homeless in Albuquerque, and out of fear for my life, used a needle for the first time. I would spend the next 23 years struggling. It was like a real-life horror movie.
At 36, I no longer had a desire to live. I had driven everyone I loved away and could not figure out how life could be the way it was. I began to think about suicide.
Fast forward two years, and by means of both unfortunate circumstances and unfortunate decisions, I had been arrested and was staring down a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison.
I believe now that it couldn’t have been anything short of the Lord that moved in the judge’s heart that day. For, instead of prison, he decided to send me to “rehab,” or so I thought. His destination for me ended up being a Christian discipleship home in Abilene.
At the home, they did so much praying, reading the Bible, and so preaching “Jesus this and Jesus that,” that after three days, I decided it would be better to go to prison for twenty years than spend another day there. I didn’t even want to believe God existed. If He did, then why?
That day I was standing at a belt sander making a cross for the ministry to sell and I had a short conversation with the air. I said,
“If You’re real and all of this is happening because You brought me here, then I need You to show me who You are. Give me a heart like I had when I was a child.”
The closest thing I can compare the next moment to is like standing under a waterfall. From the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet, I felt an overwhelming power surging through my body. I couldn’t stand, cry for help, or do anything but lie there and sob.
About 15 minutes later, someone found me and carried me out to the grass. As I lie there, it felt like a blanket was being lifted off me and when I stood up, I was completely healed. I didn’t think the same, walk the same, or even see the same. I knew God was there. And I realized in that moment, that He always had been! Even in the dark times, He had never left me alone. God is alive and God is LOVE!
I have spent the last nine years loving my way through life and what a ride! I spent three years in the home being discipled and discipling others. Even outside of living in the ministry, I have learned every day is ministry.
The Holy Spirit has countless times led me to share the gospel with people, pray for people, and give to people whatever I can. And because of this, I have experienced the love and miracles of Jesus everywhere I go. It has not always been a smooth ride; there have been challenges and losses that have shaken my core. But in the good times and the hard times in life, I know without a doubt that God is here, and He is absolutely head over heels in love with me and you.
My three siblings and I were raised by my mom with the help of my grandmother. They both did their best to keep us in church and we had a happy early childhood. When I was eleven, my mom met a man in church, and they married four months later. Not long after they married, that same man became abusive to me and my whole life began to shatter.
I was scared to go home and would try to stay away as much as possible. I began to make bad choices, putting myself around the wrong people and in the wrong places. When I turned sixteen, I found myself homeless in Albuquerque, and out of fear for my life, used a needle for the first time. I would spend the next 23 years struggling. It was like a real-life horror movie.
At 36, I no longer had a desire to live. I had driven everyone I loved away and could not figure out how life could be the way it was. I began to think about suicide.
Fast forward two years, and by means of both unfortunate circumstances and unfortunate decisions, I had been arrested and was staring down a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison.
I believe now that it couldn’t have been anything short of the Lord that moved in the judge’s heart that day. For, instead of prison, he decided to send me to “rehab,” or so I thought. His destination for me ended up being a Christian discipleship home in Abilene.
At the home, they did so much praying, reading the Bible, and so preaching “Jesus this and Jesus that,” that after three days, I decided it would be better to go to prison for twenty years than spend another day there. I didn’t even want to believe God existed. If He did, then why?
That day I was standing at a belt sander making a cross for the ministry to sell and I had a short conversation with the air. I said,
“If You’re real and all of this is happening because You brought me here, then I need You to show me who You are. Give me a heart like I had when I was a child.”
The closest thing I can compare the next moment to is like standing under a waterfall. From the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet, I felt an overwhelming power surging through my body. I couldn’t stand, cry for help, or do anything but lie there and sob.
About 15 minutes later, someone found me and carried me out to the grass. As I lie there, it felt like a blanket was being lifted off me and when I stood up, I was completely healed. I didn’t think the same, walk the same, or even see the same. I knew God was there. And I realized in that moment, that He always had been! Even in the dark times, He had never left me alone. God is alive and God is LOVE!
I have spent the last nine years loving my way through life and what a ride! I spent three years in the home being discipled and discipling others. Even outside of living in the ministry, I have learned every day is ministry.
The Holy Spirit has countless times led me to share the gospel with people, pray for people, and give to people whatever I can. And because of this, I have experienced the love and miracles of Jesus everywhere I go. It has not always been a smooth ride; there have been challenges and losses that have shaken my core. But in the good times and the hard times in life, I know without a doubt that God is here, and He is absolutely head over heels in love with me and you.
Posted in Faces of Faith