When I look back over my life through the lens of Revelation 12:11, I can see the unmistakable thread of God’s mercy woven through every season. From the earliest years—born into a home marked by violence and alcoholism, then taken at age three and moved from state homes to foster homes—the Lord was already preserving me even when I did not know Him.
By fifteen I had fallen into drugs, and by sixteen into crime, drifting between the streets and instability. Scripture says in Psalm 139:8, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there,” and now I can see that even in those dark places, His hand never let me go. Homelessness, broken relationships, and multiple suicide attempts only magnified how desperately I needed the God my mother had prayed to all her life.
At thirty‑eight I finally surrendered to the Lord, and He began rebuilding what hell had tried to destroy. Marriage, the birth of my son, ministry school, and work followed, yet in 2007 a sudden heart attack threatened to end everything. God intervened with miraculous healing, removing all damage and proving Psalm 103:3 true—“He heals all your diseases.” Even so, I carried a heavy cloud of depression, and though I earned a doctorate in theology in 2015, my view of the Father was distorted by a harsh, condemning theology. When rejection and a false image of God mix, they create a storm of guilt, shame, and condemnation that shadows every step.
By the time I was invited to a ministry retreat, I was desperate for God to speak, convinced that if He didn’t, I would disappear into my old life and leave my family in fear. In the early hours of March 29, 2016, I awoke to a voice saying, “Get up.” No one was in the room or hallway, yet the voice came again: “Read My Word.” When I opened my Bible to John 3:16, the Lord drew me into a vision, taking me back to age three, hiding under the kitchen sink while chaos erupted around me.
This time, unlike my memory of fear and loneliness, Jesus was there, fulfilling His promise in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
He walked me through every moment of rejection, sin, and disappointment, showing me that in each one, the Father loved me and had never abandoned me. When the vision ended, only two minutes had passed, yet it felt like hours in His presence. I felt clean for the first time in my life—inside and out—as every trace of guilt, shame, and condemnation washed away like Isaiah 1:18 declares. His final instruction was simple: “Study the Gospel of John until you find your identity.” Over the next several years, I discovered—as John did—that I am a beloved son, cherished by the Lord.
In 2017 doctors found five nodules on my lungs, but after nearly two years of prayer, they vanished without explanation. Then on November 14, 2023, the enemy attempted once more to take my life through a massive stroke. Yet again the Lord healed me completely, proving Psalm 118:17 true—“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” My entire journey stands as a testimony that the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony truly overcome the darkness.
Anyone who feels lonely, bound by addiction, or worn down by the relentless assaults of the enemy can find the same freedom I found in Jesus Christ. The cross is still the place where every chain breaks, every burden lifts, and every lie of the devil loses its power, for Jesus declared in John 8:36, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”
No matter the guilt, shame, disappointment, or darkness that has followed you, the Father stands ready to receive you with mercy and restore what hell tried to destroy. Bring every wound, every failure, and every hidden battle to the feet of Jesus, and watch Him do what only a loving Father can do. My testimony—and every miracle the Lord has worked in my life—is a quiver full of arrows reminding the enemy that he has lost, and Christ has already won.
Today, thanks to Yeshua HaMashiach my life stands as living proof of what the Father can do when a broken story is placed in His hands. I am joyfully married, walking in a covenant that reflects the goodness and restoration of the Lord. My son is faithfully serving to protect our nation, a testimony to God’s covering and grace over our family.
I have the honor of pastoring a powerful Kingdom family that hungers for the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ and lives to advance His purposes on the earth. The Lord has also entrusted me to write more than forty books on the faith and to co‑found Remnant Warrior Ministries—an international work carrying the mandate to disciple mountain‑moving believers who know their identity, walk in authority, and refuse to bow to the darkness of this age.
— Dr. Russell Welch Christian author | Apostolic teacher | Co‑Founder, Remnant Warrior Ministries www.RemnantWarrior.org
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 