Ben C. Guthrie

“I turned to whiskey for escape and became an absolute slave to alcohol”. When my family and friends deserted me, the thought occurred to me that I could escape by running away. The Lord led me to Washington and the Central Union Mission where I accepted Christ as my personal Savior the night of March 4, 1951.

“It was the Lord’s will for me to be born in a Christian family and to be raised in a Christian environment. But early in life I decided to leave home and go out into the world and seek my own livelihood. Almost immediately success began to come my way. Advancement after advancement came and with each advancement I drifted further away from my mother’s teachings and became more confident, thinking I could defeat the whole world in my own strength.

Finally, the inevitable happened. Setbacks came and I was not able to face them and turned to whiskey as an escape. Ultimately, I became an absolute slave to alcohol.

The time came when my family and friends deserted me, and one of the greatest psychiatrists in the world gave me up as a complete loss. It was then that the thought occurred to me that I could escape by running away, and my mind was made up to leave New York where I was then living and go some place out West. But the Lord would not have it that way. Instead, He led me to Washington and the Central Union Mission where I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the same Gospel I had heard many times before, but it was preached in such a manner I had to apply it to myself, and I accepted Christ as my personal Savior the night of March 4, 1951.

That night Christ did in a wink of the eye what some of the best doctors, psychiatrists, and I myself had been unable to do in years. He not only forgave my sins and gave me a new life, but took all desire for alcohol away from me. He has been with me every day since and has given me the only true joy and happiness I have ever known. All that I am and all that I have I owe to Him, and I praise and thank God for His saving and keeping power.