A homeless man came up pushing a shopping cart. He was wearing army fatigues and sneakers. Oddly enough, he also had swim goggles on his head. He was a real character, the kind of person Jesus said we are supposed to love and not just walk past. So I looked at him and said, “Man, do you know how much Jesus loves you?”
He pulled his shopping cart closer to me and said, “Yes, I do. Do you know how much He loves you?” Then he started to talk to me and told me that I had a demon.
He didn’t know me or where I was from, yet he knew something about me that he could not have known by natural means. There was another member of the Teen Challenge program with me, and the homeless man told him he had a demon too. That made my companion angry, and he walked across the street because he didn’t want to hear it. But I didn’t get upset. I wanted to hear more.
At that time I was still new to the faith and did not understand what words of knowledge were or anything like that. I had no idea. This man started preaching the gospel to me like I had never heard before.
“Man, why are you out here?” I asked him. “Why aren’t you preaching somewhere?” He replied, “Twenty years ago, the Lord told me to pick up my cross and follow Him, and I’ve been pushing this shopping cart across the nation from mission to mission talking to anybody who would listen.” His cart was filled with Bibles. Then he said, “We are going to pray, and this thing will not touch you; it will leave you.”
He prayed and I didn’t feel anything. I went back into the center, where some of the others made fun of me because I was talking to the homeless guy across the street. But when I turned around he wasn’t there. I had no idea where he went. All I know is that I went back in there and my life seemed to be the same as before, and I went through the rest of my day.
God’s Voice in the Valley
That night I had a dream where I was in a valley with a broad bottom and steep sides. Suddenly, everything started shaking, and I thought the demons were coming to chase me again. Instead, I heard a voice say, “Do not fear, I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will always be with you.”
Immediately I woke up. I got up and went into the prayer room where I went every day. When I entered Teen Challenge I made a commitment to pray in the prayer room every day. If there really was a God, I was going to find Him.
At that time the Bible was still largely hidden to me. I didn’t understand it. I had suffered with ADHD my whole life, and had never read a book before. About six weeks into the program, the Bible became the first book that I could understand. It also happened to be the most important book for me to understand.
I opened the Bible to Psalm 23 and read the words, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me: your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
It suddenly dawned on me, “That’s God! This was God talking to me!”
Freedom and Restoration
I went through the next day without saying anything to anybody about my dream. That night I had the same dream again. And again, on the third night, but this time it was different.
The third night was really amazing because this time a light followed behind me the whole way down this valley. A voice spoke to me from within the light and I felt something like a hand on my shoulder. The voice said, “Do not fear. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I’m always with you. This addiction will never touch you again. Go home and restore your relationships with friends and family.”
I woke up, and it was true. I was free of my addiction. I knew it was time to go home, even though I had only been there a couple of months and had not finished the Teen Challenge program.
To be continued…
Miraculous Monday: 11th September 2023
Miraculous Monday 055
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