He Came to Hustle God and Run in Three Days. Instead, God Kept Every Promise He Made Daniel.
Updated: Aug 7
Daniel Rodriguez is a graduate of the Rise Discipleship men's home. For about 20 years before that, his life was chaos, drinking, drugs, selling, scheming, and lying to get his way. He picked his friends by what he could get from them, and he had two kids he provided for but was never really there for.
His son once begged him to stop. Daniel tried, more times than he can count. But then fentanyl got into the pills he was taking, pressed in without him knowing, and by the time he realized it, it already had a hook in him.
"I loved my kids. I was in love with my wife. And nothing but fentanyl was on my mind. I wasn't a provider anymore. I was a full-blown, no-good deadbeat dad. I had lost my identity."
Losing Everything at Once
The lie underneath it all was that everyone would be better off without him. Daniel had grown up in the shadow of a twin and an older brother, always feeling he could never be good enough, and the enemy kept telling him it was true.
Then it all came apart at once. He overdosed, and his wife found him and brought him back with Narcan. She had already given him a hundred chances, and this was the end, she took the kids and left. Days later he got caught using at work and lost his job. And a month after that, his older brother, a man who had helped hundreds of kids in one of the poorest parts of Arlington graduate and go to college, passed away.
"I was mad at God. I said, why him and not me? He helped all these people, and all I did was sell poison in the streets. Why did you take him?"
Testing God
With a fresh DWI, his freedom on the line, and enough drugs in front of him to kill several men, Daniel made a deal with the God he was furious at. If God really wanted him here, He would save him, bring back his family, get him a job, and keep him out of prison. Then, Daniel said, he'd do anything.
A few days later, he landed in jail, angrier than ever. That's where his family came to him with an ultimatum: they'd bond him out, but he had to get help. The only place they could afford, after his bond drained their money, was the one place he wanted nothing to do with.
"I said, I'm mad at God. I'm not going to a faith-based program. And they said, that's the only way you're getting out of here."
The Three-Day Plan
So Daniel decided he'd hustle God. He'd heard the home was voluntary, doors open, so his plan was simple: use it to get out of jail, then run in three days and go right back to the streets.
Except everyone at the home was happy, and it made him suspicious. Day one, he was sure they were faking. Day two, he was peeking around corners, listening in, waiting for someone to slip up and scheme like he did. But every conversation was about Jesus. By day three, he walked up to the man he'd been watching most.
"I said, okay, what do you guys have, and how can I get some? They started laughing. They said, it's Jesus. Try it."
Daniel wanted the joy and the peace he saw on them, something he hadn't felt in years. So little by little, he started giving it to God. And little by little, God broke the addiction, and broke down the walls of anger.
Learning to Love Again
Daniel had planned to keep his head down and just do his time. Instead, a leader made him his armor bearer, an assistant, and as Daniel listened to the discipleship being poured into the other men, he realized it was for him too. He learned how to talk to people, how to correct them, how to comfort them, and how to settle conflict. Most of all, he learned to love again.
"Before the home, I was mad at everything and everybody. Now I'm in love with everyone. It's been a 180."
One day a court errand sent him back to jail briefly over a tiny matter, and in that cell God gave him a strange gift: a reminder of exactly what he'd been pulled out of. He was released within 30 minutes. Then, with the home's van broken down and no ride, he had a choice, back to the streets, or walk a mile to call for a pickup. He walked the mile, used a phone at a bar of all places, and called the home.
"That's when I knew I was on the right path. I faced the temptation, and I overcame it."
The Courtroom
Daniel graduated on December 3, 2023, but a serious case still hung over him, a robbery charge and the DWI. The prosecutor came with plea offers: 15 years. Then 15 again. Then ten years for one charge and five for the other, still 15. Each time, Daniel said no, because he believed God had promised to take it away. So it went to trial, where a jury could have given him decades.
His lawyer told him to gather letters of reference, proof that the man who committed the crime was no longer the man standing before the judge. Daniel had five days. Day one brought two letters. Day two, five. Day three, nine, and he started to worry. Then he prayed.
"By the fourth day, I had 30. By the fifth day, 50 people had signed, from the church, from my job, even people who knew the old me and could see the new one."
His lawyer read them, and they melted her heart. She carried them straight to the DA and the judge. Five minutes later, she came back with a question Daniel never dreamed he'd hear.
"She said, how does ten years deferred probation sound? My heart sank. The tears just started flowing."
From a demand of 15 years, with the possibility of nearly a lifetime, down to deferred probation. God had kept every single promise, the addiction broken, the family restored, a job he loves as a manager at a car wash where he gets to pour into people all day, and no prison.
"That's how I know God is real. He kept every promise. So now I have to keep mine, to be a disciple, to pour into people, to tell my testimony. That's the only reason I'm here."
If This Is You
Daniel showed up ready to fake it and run. God met him anyway. If you're that far gone, or if someone you love is one you've already given a hundred chances, don't wait. It's free, a real person answers day or night, and it starts with one call.
Ready to reach out? Get help now. Freedom really is just one phone call away. (325) 232-5449.
And it's all free because of people like you. As Daniel says it plainly: without your giving he'd be dead in a ditch or rotting in prison. Because of it, he had a home to walk into. If it wasn't for you, there would be no him.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or thoughts of suicide, you are not alone and help is available. Rise Discipleship's 24/7 helpline is (325) 232-5449.
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