God Used 2 Pastors to Remind Hopeless Man He Has Purpose

Published: May 4, 2026

ocean — Photo by Camille Minouflet on Unsplash

By Kayla DeKraker

Editor’s note: The following story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know battles harmful thoughts, please dial 988 for help.

A beautiful story about how God used two pastors to intervene in a suicide attempt hit headlines recently, reminding all of us that God loves and has a purpose for everyone.

In Bakersfield, California, pastors Ron Vietti and John Tweed were informed by police that one of their congregants was having a crisis and threatening to jump from the highway.

“We were familiar with him,” Vietti told PEOPLE. “I immediately felt God speak to my heart that we were to go get him off that overpass.”

When they arrived, they found Robert Ochoa standing on the edge, about to jump.

“It was pretty dramatic because he was rocking back and forth,” Tweed said, adding, “We’d just been praying that God sustained him and that he would not fall.”

Officers would not let the pastors come close until Vietti spoke up.

“I said, ‘Look, you guys have been doing this for three, four hours and you’re not getting anywhere. Just give us a chance. We can offer him something that you can’t,’” he said. “We can offer him hope and purpose.’”

And Vietti did just that.

He told Ochoa, “Robbie, Easter is just days away. You know what our theme is? The great comeback.”

Ochoa said his pastor’s words gave him hope after going through a hard season of being laid off from his job and relapsing.

“Pastor Ron kept telling me, ‘You got a purpose, brother. You got a purpose,’” Ochoa explained. “I felt like a failure. Failure for me is going back to prison. Prison is not an option.”

His pastors are helping him as he recovers and gets back on his feet.

“They’re helping me out with a place to stay right now. They have a lot of faith in me. In order to move forward, we’ve got to leave our past behind,” Ochoa said. “If we let our past drag us down, we’re just going to keep on bringing ourselves down.”

Since his attempt, Ochoa has found a full-time job, and even better, he’s found hope again.

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Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Life can be hard, but God can give you hope just as He did for Ochoa. If you or someone who know if struggling, help is available at https://988lifeline.org/.

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