Jordan Rogers, the North America Brand Manager for Nike, has achieved a successful career that many people only dream of having. But Rogers admits that it wouldn't have been possible if God did not save him from a life of drug dependency.
"Heroin entered my life when I had just turned 15," says Rogers in the "I Am Second" video that celebrated his 13 years of freedom and sobriety. "A buddy of mine was snorting something and he came up, and he had this look... it was just like contentment. He called it 'Chiva.' We snorted it right there off the hood of the car that night. It was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever felt."
But years after snorting "Chiva," Rogers' life took a nosedive. He became a drug addict, and more problems would arise every time he tried to stop. His drug addiction got so bad that Rogers wanted stronger drugs to make him feel happy. But since nothing really worked, Rogers even contemplated suicide.
"I had this black hole in my soul and just wanted to change the way I felt. I wanted to get high in new and different ways. I wanted to go all in," he says.
Rogers did not even consider treatment centres, but he was forced to go to one after he was ordered to by a court. It was there that he finally received a wake-up call from God.
"I was in a purple jail cell with a bunch of guys, and two guys were arguing over a toilet paper roll," he says. "At that moment I thought, 'This is not what I was made for. I absolutely deserve to be here, but I don't belong here.' And I no longer had the drugs and alcohol to blame it on. I was stone-cold sober and facing some serious consequences."
Despite ignoring God for most of his life, Rogers bowed his head and prayed, "Whoever You are, whatever You are... I need help."
"I was in that moment, broken," he recalls. "I thank God I had 13 months of incarceration, and I needed every minute of that to have a fighting chance."
His mother was extremely grateful that Rogers acknowledged God then, and she even sent him a song: "I cry out to You, Lord, as I'm desperate in my plea. Save me from my prison so that the righteous may gather about me and sing of Your good works."
Now, instead of being dependent on drugs, Rogers is dependent on God. He has found contentment knowing God loves him, and Rogers trusts whatever plans God has for his life.
