VL - Issue 42 - January 2022

Wait for
God’s Choice
THE STORY OF RON CAPELL
I was overseas and alone in a hotel room
when I realized I no longer wanted the
“American Dream.” For me, it had become
a nightmare.
I had everything the world said would
make me happy—an education, successful
career, material wealth, expensive cars, a
large home, and a beautiful wife and kids.
Yet, I was miserable. And the more I acquired,
the less content I became. I had
no joy in my life.
I had been out drinking that night. It
passed the time during my overseas travels
and temporarily filled the emptiness in
my heart. I fell asleep in a drunken stupor,
but around 4:00 a.m., I awakened to the
sound of the television, broadcasting a story
about an American corporate executive
who had just escaped his kidnappers.
I knew about this man’s plight. A local
tribe had taken him from a region where I
often traveled. Other executives and I had
been warned about the danger of being
held for ransom there. This man had been
in captivity for a year—in fact, we’d thought
he was dead.
Tears flowed down his face as he talked
about his ordeal, and then he shared how
he had come to know Jesus during his captivity.
He told the interviewer that he was
heading home to ask forgiveness from his
wife and kids for the life he had lived on
the road. He hoped to rebuild his family.
His story struck me to the core. I lay on
the bed and thought, “Oh my Lord! That’s
me!” It was like I had looked in a mirror.
I, too, needed to ask forgiveness from my
wife and children for the life I’d been living.
I also needed to ask God for forgiveness.
I had been so full of greed and inconsideration
toward others, especially my family.
Overwhelmed with grief, I fell on the
floor, repented of my sin, and surrendered
my life to Jesus. A sudden, new, and deep
desire to love God and my family instead
of things rushed over me.
I had asked Jesus into my heart as a child.
I was raised in a Christian home with a
long lineage of dedicated believers; I knew
about God and truly did love Him. But then,
when I was 16, I became rebellious and
prideful. I strayed far from the Lord and
traded His good plans for my own.
I made a big mess of things in the process,
and my home life was in shambles. I
had been so concerned with making money
that I had forgotten about the needs of
my wife and children. I hadn’t cared for
them as God intended (1 Peter 3:7).
My life had been about owning stuff, not
loving my family. And in the end, all that
stuff owned me. It doesn’t profit a man to
gain the whole world yet lose his life and
things of true importance—like his family,
health, and most importantly, his relationship
with the Lord (Mark 8:36). I was
determined to make amends and lead our
family down God’s path.
I came home, quit my high-paced traveling
job, and worked on rebuilding my family.
I became passionate about the Lord and
began devouring the Bible and serving
others. But my marriage didn’t survive.
We divorced, and I quickly remarried.
It wasn’t long, however, before I realized
that I had gotten ahead of God, and that
marriage ended as quickly as it had begun.
And now I was in financial ruin.
They say hindsight is 20/20. I know now
that if I had asked for God’s guidance, will,
and wisdom in my relationships, I could
have saved myself a whole bunch of heartache
(Proverbs 3:5–6; James 1:5). But at
the time, it didn’t occur to me to bring Him
into those decisions. Instead, I followed
my natural desires and human reasoning.
Those two failed relationships left me
broken and bitter toward women. I was
determined to remain single for the rest of
time. But then, one day, God’s Spirit spoke
to me. “Ron, this single life isn’t for you.”
He began to show me that if I followed His
lead, He would give me a godly wife who
18 Issue 01 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM