Being Saved: A Personal Testimony of Faith, Betrayal & God's Grace
It can be so very odd the way we are brought to serve God. You never really have any idea when or where it will happen. It could be around the next corner or over the next mountain. It may even be while driving on the on-ramp to the highway on the way to work.
Oddly enough, that is exactly how it happened to me.
A Prayer I Didn't Fully Understand
Being saved is something I took for granted for many years. As a teenage boy, I said the prayer with my Aunt Gertrude in the house of my Nanny Lucy. She asked me if I wanted to be saved — and not fully understanding what that meant, but trusting her completely, I agreed.
Although I had confirmed through words my commitment to being a child of God, was I really born again in Christ Jesus? Had I been truly saved? I had no idea what it all meant. And could my salvation be decided by anyone other than God Himself?
It was not long ago that I came to understand the answer with complete clarity: there is so much more to being saved than mere words.
Time and time again I have been asked by fellow Christians of every denomination, "When were you saved?" The question always went unanswered — because I truly did not know how to respond. Was I to give a date and time? Was it about a moment of inspiration or enlightenment? I asked myself these questions over and over without resolution.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is not a single isolated moment but a living, ongoing reality — a process of conversion, growth, and cooperation with grace:
"Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high."
— CCC 1989
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast."
— Ephesians 2:8–9
How the Spirit Speaks
Answers come through the Holy Spirit in the strangest ways and at the oddest times. We may be trying to fall asleep when the Lord places His words within us. We may awaken at three in the morning, drawn silently to a book, a sermon, or prayer. Often it is through a not-so-coincidental meeting with a stranger whose few kind words touch our hearts in ways we cannot explain. Many times it comes through turmoil, sickness, or betrayal.
Such was the way I was truly saved.
"The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
— John 3:8
I remember the day vividly. I had been isolated by betrayal. It was again time to test my beliefs in the Word. My faith would be tried as it pertained to my marriage, my business, and my journey with God.
I must pause to acknowledge how strange it seems to us as mere mortals when the Lord is working His miraculous plan in our lives. How many times have the worst things in our lives — through time and grace — proved the greatness of God's design? For the purpose of recognizing the true miracles of the Father, I will share with you how I became truly saved.
The Worst of the Worst Brought Out the Best of the Best
It was a day like any other — except that my entire reality had been turned upside down. My trust in the people who meant most to me had been taken advantage of. Those I believed loved me were jealous and envious. What I held so dear was not what I thought it was. My name had been slandered, my character demoralized, and my family had surrendered me to pride.
But it was the worst of the worst that brought out the best of the best. Hidden beneath the hurt was my true salvation. Through the pain of betrayal, I would be saved.
The betrayal had been revealed through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I was called to take action — and I did. There, finally, was the answer to all the confusion I had carried for months. I had been played by someone I trusted. I had been lied to by the one I chose not to confront. Yet through a miracle of the Lord, I received clarity.
I could see the weakness in the one who betrayed me. His was a weakness born of self-preservation and a lack of faith. All he had was pride — and he would do anything, and hurt anyone, to protect it. He had been challenged at his core. And rather than choosing the path of honesty, he chose sin, twisted truth, and cast himself as the victim.
This is not the path I would take. I had seen where that road leads. It is a wide road that many will travel. I would walk the narrow one.
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."
— Matthew 7:13–14
I would follow the Lord down the path of righteousness — the path of the Word.
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful."
— Joshua 1:8
Forgiveness, Freedom, and a Message from God
I was being prepared for elevation to the next level in my journey. The Lord needed to know if my soul was truly ready for what He was about to gift me with. Would I be up to the task of surrendering to the will of a truly righteous man? Could I choose the path of immediate forgiveness?
The answer was a clear and unchallenged yes.
I chose to live in the Word — and I forgave immediately.
"He is like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers. But not so are the wicked, not so! They are like chaff driven by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. The Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin."
— Psalm 1:3–6
In choosing to forgive, I was immediately released from the burden of betrayal. The pain lifted. The cloud over my soul dissipated. Though my olive branch was cast to the ground, I was still free from what had once bound me in sorrow.
The Catechism speaks directly to this liberating power of forgiveness:
"It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession."
— CCC 2843
There was only one question left unanswered: why had he turned on me, and why was he refusing to make amends?
On the On-Ramp to the Highway
My answer came the very next morning.
On the way to work, I turned on the radio. Not interested in music, I searched the AM dial — something I rarely did. As I stopped at the last traffic light before the on-ramp to the highway, I hit the seek button once. It landed on a local Christian radio station.
A pastor was telling the story of a man who justified going against the Word. Reasoning that there was a great famine, he decided it was for the good of his family to move away. He told himself: "I have to feed my family."
By the time I reached my office, I knew that ninety-nine percent of that sermon applied directly to my life. I listened through the parking lot. Realizing I had only caught the last ten minutes, I went online and ordered the full CD. When it arrived, I listened immediately — and again, ninety-nine percent spoke directly to my circumstance.
It was a message from God. That is when I was saved — on the on-ramp to the highway, on the way to work.
From that moment forward, my faith multiplied. I became engulfed by the Holy Spirit. It was a miracle, absent of coincidence. And the detail that struck me most — realized only a full year later — was that I had been directly in front of a church when it happened.
"I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel with my eye upon you."
— Psalm 32:8
"Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that 'the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth.'"
— CCC 1994
The Work That Doesn't Feel Like Work
Since that day, I have been privileged to touch many lives. I immediately began an online ministry that enabled me to share God's knowledge and His miracles with thousands. I have ministered to people I encounter in daily life. And I began attending worship at that very church — sharing stories of blessing with its members and helping to bring new souls into the Body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit is with me, and I am guided by faith. I look forward to every day in which I am able to give my time to Him. My rewards are great and my troubles are few.
They say that if you enjoy what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Nobody knows that as well as I do. Many times people have said, "Ron, you have really put a lot of work into this." I keep silent — because all great works are by the hand of God. He guides us and sets every piece in place. It is only on us to make the right moves.
"Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ."
— Colossians 3:23–24
There is no greater reward than a good work in service to the Lord — and in becoming all He intends us to be.