In a new viral video, a 23-year-old prison inmate describes how God changed his life.
“What was God in my recovery? Everything,” Ty Bateman says in the video.
“It’s been a supernatural thing. It’s been something eternal that He’s done in me. He’s flipped the switches. Christ Jesus is my Lord and Savior. He is my success story. He’s the reason I am here today. I put in the work. I put in the effort, but He did the transformation of my heart, and I am only here and alive because of Him,” Bateman added.
The video is from God Behind Bars, a non-profit ministry that shares the testimonies of prison inmates. The video of Bateman has more than 200,000 likes on Instagram.
In the video, Bateman shares that he was raised in a Christian home, but he was sexually molested and raped when he was 9. He was bullied at school as well, according to CBN News.
“I eventually started hating life,” he shared. “I started hating God. I started just cursing and hating everybody.”
He attempted suicide when he was ten and then spent time in and out of mental hospitals.
When he was 13, he started using drugs, and at 16, he went to drug rehab.
“Everything they tried to do didn’t work,” he shared.
“I was constantly verbally abusive to my family. I would constantly bicker with my mom. I had to be restrained multiple times because of my aggression. I’m punching trees…punching walls…punching holes in my wall. Just causing massive amounts of mischief,” he added.
He dropped out of high school and again in 2017 tried to commit suicide.
“My mom went to take my little sister to school,” he shared. “It gave me enough time. I ran down to the basement. I already had a cord ready and braided. I tied the noose, and I remember looking back at my friend and [saying], ‘Hey, this is it, bro. I’m done.'”
“I kicked the ladder from underneath myself, and I died,” Bateman recalled.
Bateman died after eight minutes and was taken to a hospital where medical staff resuscitated him.
After recovery, Bateman turned back to drugs, and in April 2020, he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. He again tried to kill himself, but he survived and was transferred to Jefferson County Jail in Golden, Colorado.
“I ended up in a pod with a guy named Trivy,” Bateman recalled. “And he held a prayer circle one night. It was a prayer circle about forgiveness, and at that moment, I lost everything. I just broke down crying.
“When I heard that Jesus forgave me in that jail. Everything changed. I couldn’t believe that with all I had done, Jesus still loved me just as much as anybody else. I couldn’t believe it. Jesus transformed me. He allowed me to feel again. He has healed my hate.”
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Akarawut Lohacharoenvanich
Video Courtesy: God Behind Bars via YouTube
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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