159: Joseph Agliata and Finding the Peace of God

Joseph Agliata is an IT guy and podcaster. Today, Joe shares his story of mental illness, being close to suicide, and potentially hurting others. But his story doesn’t end there. Joe was seeking the peace of Jesus and you can see the Lord’s faithfulness to bring it to him even in a mental ward where Joe clung to his Bible. If you struggle with mental illness, listen to Joe’s story and know that there is hope. If you don’t, you know someone who does (even if they don’t share that with you). Listen to Joe’s story, hear God’s faithfulness to lead him into health, and ask the Lord for the same.

Listen to Joe’s story now!

Stories Joseph shared:

• Why he loves stories and their power
• Growing up in an Irish Catholic family in Boston
• Exploring religions as a teenager even though he was an atheist
• Getting into fights and feeling like his mental health was slipping away
• The moment he almost became a school shooter
• Being placed into a mental institution for months
• Reading the Scriptures during this time
• Praying that God would prove his existence to him
• Getting baptized and knowing God had answered his prayer
• How Teen Challenge helped disciple him
• Going through serious depression in the last year
• How compassion in his character began to shine through
• Serving in Israel and returning to his Messianic roots

Great quotes from Joseph:

I was a crazy person and now I’m not.

Nobody told me don’t do that, don’t do those laws. I just read it and I did it.

Maybe God knew that’s exactly what I needed.

I don’t want to hide things anymore. I want to show what God has done.

Resources we mentioned:

• Connect with Joseph on Facebook
• National Suicide Prevention Hotline – 1-800-273-8255

Related episodes:

• Wesley Ross Harris and Growing Faith and Mental Illness
• Shari Malott and Fighting for Hope
• Marie White and How God Turns Tragedy into Trust

The post Joseph Agliata and Finding the Peace of God appeared first on Eric Nevins.