“I woke up and thought that I am still alive because someone wants me to continue living.” Jehan Rajapakshe was in the grip of drugs, and felt no hope for his future. He has survived two overdoses in the past and thought he wouldn’t survive the next. When Jehan experienced his third overdose, he thought this was the end. “I could not see straight when I woke up, my eyes were yellow, my nails and teeth were disfigured,” Jehan said remembering how confused he was to find he had survived the third overdose.
Jehan grew up in a Christian household but he had never experienced God. Over the years to fill the void in his heart, he fell into bad company that introduced him to drugs among other things. For four years he lived his life without a purpose. He wasted his time in the company of people who had no plans to do anything better in life. Little did Jehan know that God had plans for his life.
After his third overdose and the realization that there was something he was being kept alive for, Jehan began to shift his focus. After quitting drugs, he began experiencing withdrawal symptoms – every inch of his body was hurting. He was in agony for a week. At the end of that week he was invited to church with a friend. He decided to attend, and went there feeling delirious and lost. He sat in the back and listened as the pastor preached. “Three words snapped me back to reality so hard that I still remember them clearly- Jesus loves you!” he said as he remembered the pastor inviting people to the alter to repent of their sins. Jehan chose to walk up and found himself kneeling under the sudden weight he felt on his shoulders. He knew he had a choice; he could either run away or give himself to God.
Once Jehan decided to surrender himself and his life to God, he felt as light as a feather! All the burden of his sins we lifted from his shoulders and he no longer felt like he was being pushed into the ground. “In 2017 I had my new beginning where I went from wondering why I was alive to knowing that I mattered,” he said. Jeremiah 29:11 gave him a clear answer to why he was alive after all the bad decisions he had made. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Today, Jehan proudly calls himself a student of psychology, a child of God and a believer of the Gospel. He believes if God could change his life around, He can change anyone who chooses to walk with him.
