HK4U
New member
Thought some of you might enjoy reading and listing to the following testimony by Gabe Suarez.
Gabe Suarez: Saved by the Voice of God
TESTIMONY
Gabe Suarez: Saved by the Voice of God
By Robert Hull
The 700 Club
CBN.com – Gabe Suarez loved the high risk and excitement that came with being a southern california cop.
"Car crashes and fights, there were a couple of times I fell off of building," Gabe tells The 700 Club. "I worked all the dangerous assignments. It’s kind of what I liked to do. I worked SWAT, gangs. By being around violence all the time, you have to embrace it a little bit if you’re going to survive. You do that enough, and it becomes part of your personality whether you like it or not."
By the age of 39, his body had had enough of the abuse.
"The doctor said, ‘You need to do something else 'cause you’re going to end up where you can’t move or you’re going to have to have surgery.'"
Gabe prepared for early retirement with disability. At the same time, he started a new business that included fire arms training and self defense.
"I asked my doctor if it was okay to do that, and he said, ‘Absolutely, as long as you’re not out being a bouncer at a bar.’ So I began building the business and advertising. Apparently the advice that I got was not good advice."
He didn’t know it, but the new business violated the terms of his disability retirement. His former co-workers built a felony fraud case against him.
"I was very angry about what was going on," Gabe recalls. "I felt horrible, totally out of control. Everything else in my life I had total control on. If you were to tell me there were five armed robbers in there and I got to go get them, no problem. I know how to handle that. This situation, I didn’t know how to handle that. I didn’t know quite where to turn."
In desperation he called his friend Dale, who was a Christian.
"I knew the only hope for him was God so I encouraged him to turn his heart towards the Lord and pray," Dale says.
Gabe adds, "I did pray and it was a very tearful prayer. It was actually more like yelling at God and asking, 'Why the heck are You doing this and get me out of it' I’ve never prayed like that before, but I did that night."
Months went by and the charges against Gabe mounted. He was arrested and faced the posibility of a long prison term.
"The only thing that I knew that had effect on things was violence," Gabe says. "You take care of business and things change. I grabbed my rifle and I went off purposing in my heart to do something evil 'cause I figured that was the only thing I had left."
Before he could exact vengeance on his accusers, something stopped him in his tracks.
"I clearly heard God’s voice and the voice was telling me to pray. So I turned the car around, went home, put everything away and I prayed."
Hundreds of miles away, Dale knew something was wrong with Gabe.
"I was awakened out of my sleep," Dale says. "I wasn’t groggy. I sat up awake. I heard very clearly that still small voice saying, ‘Go minister to your brother, your friend.’"
Dale drove through the night and arrived at Gabe’s house early the next morning. Gabe says, "He showed up basically unannounced with a Bible in his hand and said, ‘I’m not sure necessarily what is going on, but the Holy Spirit told me to come here visit with you and bring you this Bible.'"
"I just knew if he had the word of God in his hand and had some basic instruction where to go to find his answers, he would do it," Dale says.
Gabe prayed with Dale and gave his life to Jesus Chirst.
"That was the turning point where I knew completely that God was in control of this and I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out but I know it’s going to be okay. I was fully committed to Christ, and I knew this is where I need to go. This is where I need to be. As this event started to unfold I started to look to Him more and to start relying on Him more. My circumstances started changing. Little by little, this huge wall of Jericho started getting taken down brick by brick by brick."
Several charges were dropped completely. Eventually Gabe accepted a pleabargain and spent seven months in jail.
"It was a very hard time, probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but with faith, I did it. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I remember praying, ‘Lord, You’ve got me now. Don’t let me go."
Gabe came out of jail ready for a new start. He now uses his business and experience to encourage others to put their life in God’s hands, just as he did. He says, "What I had before, God didn’t ask me to throw it away. He asked me to put it in the right place, and so today I get to talk to men who were like me.
"We see a little small portion of what’s going on. He sees the entire picture and He knows where He’s guiding you. He loves us beyond what we can comprehend, and He is always faithful. I look back at where we were and where we are now, and I can see that what I went through was necessary so that I could be where I am today."
Gabe Suarez: Saved by the Voice of God
TESTIMONY
Gabe Suarez: Saved by the Voice of God
By Robert Hull
The 700 Club
CBN.com – Gabe Suarez loved the high risk and excitement that came with being a southern california cop.
"Car crashes and fights, there were a couple of times I fell off of building," Gabe tells The 700 Club. "I worked all the dangerous assignments. It’s kind of what I liked to do. I worked SWAT, gangs. By being around violence all the time, you have to embrace it a little bit if you’re going to survive. You do that enough, and it becomes part of your personality whether you like it or not."
By the age of 39, his body had had enough of the abuse.
"The doctor said, ‘You need to do something else 'cause you’re going to end up where you can’t move or you’re going to have to have surgery.'"
Gabe prepared for early retirement with disability. At the same time, he started a new business that included fire arms training and self defense.
"I asked my doctor if it was okay to do that, and he said, ‘Absolutely, as long as you’re not out being a bouncer at a bar.’ So I began building the business and advertising. Apparently the advice that I got was not good advice."
He didn’t know it, but the new business violated the terms of his disability retirement. His former co-workers built a felony fraud case against him.
"I was very angry about what was going on," Gabe recalls. "I felt horrible, totally out of control. Everything else in my life I had total control on. If you were to tell me there were five armed robbers in there and I got to go get them, no problem. I know how to handle that. This situation, I didn’t know how to handle that. I didn’t know quite where to turn."
In desperation he called his friend Dale, who was a Christian.
"I knew the only hope for him was God so I encouraged him to turn his heart towards the Lord and pray," Dale says.
Gabe adds, "I did pray and it was a very tearful prayer. It was actually more like yelling at God and asking, 'Why the heck are You doing this and get me out of it' I’ve never prayed like that before, but I did that night."
Months went by and the charges against Gabe mounted. He was arrested and faced the posibility of a long prison term.
"The only thing that I knew that had effect on things was violence," Gabe says. "You take care of business and things change. I grabbed my rifle and I went off purposing in my heart to do something evil 'cause I figured that was the only thing I had left."
Before he could exact vengeance on his accusers, something stopped him in his tracks.
"I clearly heard God’s voice and the voice was telling me to pray. So I turned the car around, went home, put everything away and I prayed."
Hundreds of miles away, Dale knew something was wrong with Gabe.
"I was awakened out of my sleep," Dale says. "I wasn’t groggy. I sat up awake. I heard very clearly that still small voice saying, ‘Go minister to your brother, your friend.’"
Dale drove through the night and arrived at Gabe’s house early the next morning. Gabe says, "He showed up basically unannounced with a Bible in his hand and said, ‘I’m not sure necessarily what is going on, but the Holy Spirit told me to come here visit with you and bring you this Bible.'"
"I just knew if he had the word of God in his hand and had some basic instruction where to go to find his answers, he would do it," Dale says.
Gabe prayed with Dale and gave his life to Jesus Chirst.
"That was the turning point where I knew completely that God was in control of this and I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out but I know it’s going to be okay. I was fully committed to Christ, and I knew this is where I need to go. This is where I need to be. As this event started to unfold I started to look to Him more and to start relying on Him more. My circumstances started changing. Little by little, this huge wall of Jericho started getting taken down brick by brick by brick."
Several charges were dropped completely. Eventually Gabe accepted a pleabargain and spent seven months in jail.
"It was a very hard time, probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but with faith, I did it. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I remember praying, ‘Lord, You’ve got me now. Don’t let me go."
Gabe came out of jail ready for a new start. He now uses his business and experience to encourage others to put their life in God’s hands, just as he did. He says, "What I had before, God didn’t ask me to throw it away. He asked me to put it in the right place, and so today I get to talk to men who were like me.
"We see a little small portion of what’s going on. He sees the entire picture and He knows where He’s guiding you. He loves us beyond what we can comprehend, and He is always faithful. I look back at where we were and where we are now, and I can see that what I went through was necessary so that I could be where I am today."
