John
Who could that be at this hour? William thought as he slipped on his house shoes. William flipped on the light in the living room and walked to the front door. With his hand on the deadbolt, he looked through the peep hole. When he recognized the man outside, he turned the deadbolt counterclockwise, and opened the door.
“Well hello, ‘John.’ ” William said. “Come in.” “Thanks, Preacher,” John said, “Sorry to come by so late, but I didn’t know where else to turn.
John’s wife, “Mabel” was an active member at William’s church, but not John. John was an alcoholic that would go on drinking binges for several months at a time. Mabel was always requesting prayer for John’s salvation, and the church was faithful to pray for him whenever they gathered.
William could smell liquor on John’s breath-he’d been drinking again, but this time, something was different. John talked a while and sobbed a while. He had hit the bottom, and was ready to turn to the Lord for help.
William listened. And when the time was right, he shared the plan of salvation with John. That night, John placed his trust in Jesus.
I wish I could tell you he never drank again, but I can’t. “After I made that decision, I went out with the old buddies again.” John said. “But it never left me, I knew I had to get back to God and be baptized.”
With time, that’s exactly what he did. He relapsed back into his old lifestyle after his Salvation, but finally, with the help of the Lord and the support of his church, he got it right. And when he did, John was able to defeat a sinful habit and became a vital part of the church that didn’t give up on him.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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