derek surrenders

Actor Derek Ramsay on facing some of his toughest battles--and how going back to his faith in God is shaping his outlook on life

Hi everyone! Welcome to “Middle of a Love Story.”  This season feels different, doesn't it? Well, it's because we're different. We've walked through some real life changes the past few years. The kind that grows you, humbles you, and brings you to a place where you realize that every story, every turning point, every moment of healing only makes sense when God is at the center, the middle of it all.

We're stepping into a more honest, more mature season. A season where faith isn't just a topic, it's the foundation. It's the lens we see light through, it's the heartbeat behind every conversation.

So, the original show, I remember–we interviewed you, remember? A few years ago. It was built around human stories. This new chapter is built around God's story at work in human hearts. So there's sort of a transition. 

It's who we are now, thankfully, by God's grace. And whatever your chapter looks like in your life, God isn't finished writing your story. I think we could all agree that we're in the middle of... Our own love stories, yeah?  So, we just have to trust the author because He is good all the time. 

The man we are with today is a good friend, way back from high school, right? 

Let’s not divulge our age. Let's not date ourselves. 

Behind the fame, behind the headlines, behind the roles the world has watched. Well, you're famous wherever there’s a Filipino, or even... 

I’ve been an open book for too long.

 I guess, sometimes you, when the world is just so good, you tend to just forget about Him. 

 And that's why, these things that I've been through, I really believe this is a reminder, or He's knocking on my door and saying, “Hey, it's me. You haven’t been letting me in for such a long time.” Like  you said earlier, He’s preparing me for bigger and better things in my life. My story hasn't ended. And it's just about to begin, I guess.

It's basically just a reminder. Because I’ve always had my faith. I always pray before I went to sleep. All of a sudden, things just happened so fast. I was on cloud nine. You tend to just forget about Him. I think we're all guilty of that. Oh absolutely. Absolutely. 

So here I am. Finding my path again. Towards Him.

So Derek Ramsay, joins us on Middle of A Love Story, for a conversation about faith, maybe beyond,  purpose beyond pressure, and the middle chapter God is unfolding in his life. 

That's so beautiful. So, first question.  This is Sabina, by the way, my daughter, my eldest, and… Not so small anymore. Not so little anymore. Goddaughter, and this is Ninong Derek. 

Is there a moment in your journey where you felt  God was reminding you who you are in Him?  

Yeah. Like I said earlier, I've always had my faith. I grew up with my parents both being God-fearing.  I treat God as like my friend, at night I talk to Him like my friend. 

And  when He blessed me with my family, I kinda  lost my way a little bit and just focused on them.  It reminded me that you need to have Him in the center so that the foundation is strong. So that when you hit these storms in life, you just don't get swept away. I guess that's what happened to me–one storm hit and the foundation wasn’t there. 

 Speaking of storms, remember the story when Peter was walking on water, and he took his eyes off Jesus, and then he sank….

He lost focus…Exactly. So that's I guess, yeah, that's the perfect description of what happened.

And  when He blessed me with my family, I kinda  lost my way a little bit and just focused on them.  It reminded me that you need to have Him in the center so that the foundation is strong. So that when you hit these storms in life, you just don't get swept away.

How has God been shaping you to a more Christ-like version of yourself? 

That’s hard…ooh…It's a really tough journey. It  is so tough. I've asked so many questions to God, “Who am I, what am I, what's my purpose?” It's so difficult, I'm still on that journey now, trying to find out why I’m here.

I have many  friends who say I have these skills given by our Lord, but  I still have to grow in the confidence and believing in that.  So Sabs, right now, that's my journey. I'm trying to figure that out.  It's not easy. It's really, really hard. But I think that's what makes it great, and makes your relationship with Him stronger. For sure. 

I think our disciple group leader, he always tells us that when you have a problem, what we tend to do is we focus on the horizontals. We tend to forget the vertical. When we're not connected to our source, which is God, then things go awry. 

Yes, yes. And I think those are tests just to make you a better person, make you stronger. Test your faith a little bit.

Things can't always be good all the time. You know? For sure.  Things can’t also not always be bad. Yeah. So, there's a balance there. I think if your faith is strong, He will definitely bless you. You just have to be patient. In this whole mess, I never blamed Him. Never. Not once did I say, “God, why'd you do this to me? God, I was happy. God, I was in a perfect place.” Not once. I was more sorry that I turned my back–not purposely–I turned my back because I was too focused on other things than Him.

They   say that faith is not, you know, it's despite your circumstances, right? It's “even  if.” It's not like, “God, if you give this to me, then I will worship you.” It's more of, “even if you don't give this.” 

Actually, dear, it's more of, “I give you this. This is, it's up to you, God. Whatever You bless me with. Whatever you’re going to give me. Sa ‘yo na yan. Ibibigay ko na sa iyo ang problemang ito.”

And you just have to believe, you have to believe that either He is going to fix it, or  he just has a different plan. So, I'm actually excited. I'm very excited to see what's going to happen. At the same time of course, it's like my heart is healing, my heart is broken. But I'm  excited for what He’s going to bless me with because I gave my problem na to Him. Sa’yo na yan. 

So, you, it’s surrender, pretty much? Totally. On your knees. Like, “it’s Yours!”

On your knees. Like, it's yours. Everything is His anyway. 

Well, you should know we pray for you. I feel them.  You know, I'm fighting so many battles now. Everyone’s probably just assuming what you see out there on social media. 

I'm fighting many battles right now. And if I didn’t have my faith, then I probably wouldn’t be standing on my feet right now. But that’s what keeps me going. Of course, I have a good support system. Friends like you who pray for me. Friends who are helping me, and guiding me through this tough journey. 

So, if it wasn't for them, if it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t know who I am.  So yeah, the journey is tough. 

Like you said, it's not just one journey. It's like, the thing with life is we deal with so many at the same time, right? It's not just like, people think it's one. I’m sure all of us go through that, right? “Lahat may pinagdadaanan.”

Where do you feel God's love most tangibly today? 

Hmm…I would say, this home. Playing my songs, it  just gives so much energy to this house. I feel protected. The other day we anointed the house, yeah, we all gathered, we prayed in the kitchen. And then we anointed the house, for protection. 

I got good sleep, anointed my bed. Just this house. The house–when I play my music, it just  gives me so much energy and peace. And I haven’t had peace for a long time.

Now I've settled down, and I’ve had my peace. I feel God all around me in this house, protecting me, loving me. So dito lang ako lagi sa bahay…or on the golf course! Golf course, bahay.

That’s always been you though, right?

You know, it's different. The energy talaga is different. For a time, all the plants were dead. 

 Really? Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Yeah… I play my music, except when I was working out. I need something to pump me up. 

 Speaking of music, what were the songs you were playing earlier? I love those. 

I have a whole playlist that I can show you.  Again, it just changes the whole house. It makes the whole house alive. And peaceful, right? Peaceful. 

“Touch in the Sky” was my number one most played song on Spotify last year.

I love the song, “Who You Say I am.” Yeah or, “ Broken Vessels.” 

Max, you love, “Broken Vessels,” right? So good.  

So, yeah, it just gives some change to this house.  It just puts me in a good mood, and I feel peaceful.

There's this phrase that you don't have to be anyone in order to be with God. He meets you right where you are. Because I think some people think that “No, I can't face God. I'm too much of a sinner.” And let me preface this by saying that we are all sinners. 

We're all born to sin, I think, you know? That's why Jesus came back, to forgive us of all our sins.

Let's remember that. That's  the gospel. That's good news right there. 

He came back to forgive us from all of our sins, so always remember that...

 Yeah I felt like that before, that I was too much of a sinner.

 You can't go back to Him, right? But He’s always there.

That's why Jesus came back, to forgive us of all our sins.

Let's remember that. That's  the gospel. That's good news right there. 

He meets us right where we are. That's the best part. Cos, we're His children. You're a father, right? I think the world of my kids, you know? But we are all, we all fall short of the glory of God. 

That's why before in the Old Testament, there had to be a, the perfect lamb to be able to be sacrificed. The wages or the payment of sin is death. Something perfect had to die. So in the New Testament, the blameless, most perfect one gave His life for us.

We shouldn't make that an excuse. We shouldn't abuse that,  us what’s that–hall pass. Yeah, exactly. Such a huge hall pass, right? Such a gift.

...we all fall short of the glory of God. 

 When you said that you kind of forgot where God is in your life, that really struck me because all of us do that, right? 

I mean I got married, had my daughter, happy family, traveling the world, I forgot to be thankful, I forgot to actually work on making Him the foundation of the family, prioritizing Him,  because things were just going so good. You know? 

He still didn’t forgive me for that. Here I am, now more focused than ever. I  promise that I won't be derailed in the sense, that I'll turn my back. Of course there's going to be lefts and rights. Sometimes, go two steps backwards. But I strive to continue moving forward. 

They say that God just wants our hearts. Our heart posture, like, we're all gonna,  we're all gonna sin. You know, everyday. I mean, I think from what I've learned, sin is sin. Like, you know, small lies, and all that. But if God sees our hearts, and that we're trying, and He says that if we have a mustard seed of faith, He can work with that. 

Like, it doesn't have to be like, oh, tomorrow, “I'm holy. Tomorrow I'm perfect.” There's no one. There's no way, right? That really humbled me, what you said, and that you forgot. It takes a big man to admit that. A humble one. A humbled person. 

Yeah I mean, this experience, this whole journey, yeah, it's really humbled me. Like  I said, there wasn't a moment where I blamed Him. Because you can easily do that. Why would you take this away from me? If you love me, why would you make me experience this, and so many…My father being sick. It's just like, why sabay-sabay? Diba? But He’a just molding me, building me to be a better person.

For sure.  I know you are so close to your family, your parents, especially. Yeah, he's my best friend and it's just amazing to see how strong he is. Ako pa yung nanghihina. Siya yung, standing strong.  But he's doing well. We're gonna be going to the UK all together. So that's already a blessing to start the next year. That's a huge blessing. Huge. We’re gonna go back and see his family. It's probably his last trip to the UK. But yeah, we’re all going. It’s a good way to start the next year.

 That’s so wonderful. Do you want to say something to your folks? Oh, you're gonna make me cry. That's my weak spot, just my parents. You know…There's life there's death.

...this whole journey, yeah, it's really humbled me. Like  I said, there wasn't a moment where I blamed Him.

Growing up, you've known me for close to three decades. Yeah, three decades, yeah. Oh my God! Yeah, three decades.

You’ve seen how close I am to my family.  It's been a good life. So now, it's their twilight years. And it's just scary. Now you're gonna make me cry. 

I have to prepare myself. That’s what I actually pray to the Lord, is to give me strength to be able to handle that. The thought of them not here? It’s…

Well I think it’s nice that you’re practicing praying for how thankful you are because it’s also so important to pray in your most troubled times.

They are the best blessing I've had. The Lord blessed me with such wonderful parents who created all of these experiences for me. My success. Everything, it’s  because of them. They worked so hard to give us the best in life.

They have the perfect marriage. When I say “perfect,” it doesn't mean that they no problems, but their foundation is solid.They've gone through so many storms, and the house never collapsed. It's just, solid. They’re married 50 years now–50 years, and they’re just as strong.

I heard my mom say once that if she had the opportunity to do it all again, she would…so it's something to be very envious of, something I really wanted in my life.

Well I'm still here, let's see.  I might be blessed in that. That's what I'm saying. I'm excited. I'm excited to see what's going to happen. 

For sure. Actually, I pray for your marriage, your family, your children. I am such an advocate for marriage, and my husband and I have been through a lot also. 

So am I. Everyone thought that I'm just this guy that doesn't, but I wanted to get  everything out there done. I waited patiently. We'll see.

If you could send a message to your younger self, the version before showbiz, what would you say from a place of faith, experience, and growth?

Ooh, um. I don’t think I’d say anything. I’ve made lots of mistakes. I’ve learned from them. Those mistakes were tests from Him. If I had to talk, I’d just  watch myself, I guess. I wouldn't tell him anything because I don't regret the life that I've lived. I’m so blessed. 

It's an incredible life. Super. It would  be very selfish of me to be complaining about my life. Like you said, “Lahat tayo may problema, lahat tayo may pinagdadaaanan.” 

I'm still, I'm alive..I’m healthy.

 Again, I've always had my faith, my parents brought me up that way.  Many times, I've gone off the path, but I always find my way back. And now, I'm “mature.” 

I’ve made lots of mistakes. I’ve learned from them. Those mistakes were tests from Him.

We all hope to be. Especially with these battles that I’m facing now. I don’t think I’ll have too many blips moving forward.

The vertical…vertical.

Do you want to say something to your kids? 

Ummm…that’s too hard. It is hard. Yeah.

Pakita ko na lang.  Actions speak louder than words.  Especially with social media, there's so much stuff out there that they’re going to read. But if you show them how much you love them, by your actions. Lead by example, leave more of a mark than me just telling them something. But of course, yeah I wanna tell them I love them. I’m always gonna be here for them.

I’m hopefully  their best friend.  If they are ever in trouble, they can always run to me, like how my dad and my mom raised me. I wasn’t afraid to run to my parents…Even at this age, I run to them.

Some people take it as, “Oh you’re still so childish, how can you run to them?” I don’t care.

The minute I had these battles, it’s just, “Mom,Daddy, help me.” You know? It was my mom who reminded me the only one who can really help is the guy upstairs. 

She's…her faith is just...wow. She goes to Manaoag every month for the past 10 years. Panata niya.

 Well, you are who you are, your siblings are who they are. 

I mean, again, I would, I just pat myself on the back. “Prepare yourself.”  

Prepare yourself…there will be surprises…and yeah  for all of us, not just you.

I just  feel like God is using this season in your life to, I don’t know, make you an instrument for His glory, right? You're so well known… 

We're living in a very negative world, and instead of somebody being happy for this person who has  found God, or is trying to find God, we live in a world na, “Ayan, ginagamit na naman si God.”

But, it’s  true, guys. That's why Jesus came, and He cleansed us of our sins. That's the hall pass, the ultimate hall pass. You can always run back to Him. So it’s not, “using,” it's just,  It's a reminder. It's a huge reminder.  We will not be here without Him. 

I just  feel like God is using this season in your life to, I don’t know, make you an instrument for His glory

The Lord wants you to live your life with joy. Diba, that’s in the Bible? 

Yes. Yes, it's the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 

If you don’t live your life, it's actually a sin. Live your life with joy.

Not to say that there won't be problems. There will be problems.

For sure, but he wants you to…The most repeated phrase in the bible is, “Do not be afraid.”

Embrace those problems, and show that you have faith in Him, because you believe these problems, they have solutions. And He’s gonna give you the solutions.

 Yeah…Easier said than done! Oh, so much!

But that's life–the great thing about life. If  you're always at the top, how can it feel good  if you've never felt what it’s like on the bottom? 

It's a rollercoaster…up, down, up, down. If a roller coaster is just…it would be boring, right?

Yeah, I guess that understanding is why I never blamed Him, because my dad naman was the one who always said that, “Life is up and down.” That’s the beauty of life. It’s not just always smooth-sailing.

Again, I know, God  is good. He's got something great in store for me. And I'm  going to stick to that path that makes me a better son.  Better child of God, no. 

That's what we all should strive for. My friend, who was a cancer survivor, her name's Mina, when I was going through some stuff, she was telling me, “You know, Tans, that's travel life in this world. Nothing belongs to you, not even your children.” When I heard that, I was like, “What??? That’s scary!”

There is literally nothing…so there is only one relationship that you have to protect, and that's one with God. And the promise of eternity with Him, the reconciliation with God, is achieved through Jesus. That's the only way. 

God  is good. He's got something great in store for me. And I'm  going to stick to that path that makes me a better son.  Better child of God, no. 

It's really, we're all in the middle of our love stories with God. That's exactly why we are doing this. And we are so thankful to you, for opening up, for your heart, just showing us that despite our troubles, there's one, our Creator, our Father in Heaven.

Yeah, I mean He's already given me blessings. My dad's medication is working. He’s in good spirits. It’s nice to see my Dad…We were all in tears when we found out, especially my mom.

Um, God’s giving him the strength to fight this. He’s not scared, he’s not worried. And we got good results from his last examination. He’s gonna be around for…a while. 

 So good! I didn't want to ask you about that. I was worried. I’m glad. 

He’s gonna be around for a while. 

Thank you, Lord.

I mean, he's so happy.

God’s giving him the strength to fight this. He’s not scared, he’s not worried. And we got good results from his last examination.

 Oh, there's a nice question here. What's a piece of wisdom from your faith journey that you would share with someone in a tough  season? We pretty much covered it naman, but you know specifically… 

The best thing I can say is that it's not always gonna be tough. It's not always gonna be tough. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Just like, it's not always gonna be good. 

At least now when it's when it's  tough, it’s not gonna get any worse. 

So we're so thankful to you. 

If you wake  up the next morning and your feet touch the ground, be thankful. I love that. I love that. 

It's the first thing I do in the morning now. I say, “thank you.” For another day. I always say, “Today's gonna be a great day.”

Just be thankful.  There are people out there with bigger problems. Don't focus on, I guess  that tough thing that you're worrying about, focus on the blessings that He's given you. 

The first thing is you're still alive. You're breathing.

 That's the best thing I can say to someone going through something. 

Thank you, so much. Your testimony of faith is just inspiring. 

Yeah, again the journey is wonderful. But at the same time, very hard also. So very hard. But it really makes you strong. Again, with the battles I’m going through, if I didn’t go back to my faith, I’d be a broken man.

And that would be unfair to my parents, all their hard work. I think I’d be disrespecting God with all the blessings He’s given me in my life. I live a very comfortable life.

A  lot of pain, a lot of problems have molded me to be the man that I am. It’d be very selfish of me, to turn my back and forget about all the blessings He’s given me.

 That's just, that outweighs any of these other problems that I’m facing. 

So, I hope this inspires you guys out there. Anyone going through any problems, just remember, God is good. He's got your back, always. All the time.