So yesterday as you could tell from Words for the Day I was really feeling blue.
Hmmm . . . That is not an apt description. I was feeling deep black despair, miserable depression, and was very discouraged blue. I was so sick of the naysayers and other problems that I faced that I wanted to scream. So that was the state of mind that I was in this morning when I sat down at my desk and opened my mail to the following letter:
“Mr. Williamson – I now locked up in a prison in Alabama. I have 25 years and have served 14. I’m in lock down now for fighting another inmate. I have to do a year in here because I hit him in the head with a pole. He was bigger than me and I feared for my life. I did not know what else to do.
Sir I have been in this lock up – (one man cell) – for a month. And two days ago I was losing my mind in here. I was not getting no mail from my family; I cannot call now but one time a month, and I don’t have any money on my phone anyway. So I got on my knees and prayed. I was crying out to the Lord and I ask him to please don’t let me go crazy in this hole and kill myself.
And a guy next to me call over and ask was I okay. I told him how I was feeling and he talk to me and gave me a book call Miracle on Luckie Street. I read it all night it took me to another person’s life that was just like mine. It made me cry, laugh, and get happy that life could go so wrong, but end up so right!
It gave me hope that I did not have. Now I feel like I can do anything and life is not so bad. I want to live again. Thank you for your life story because it save my life. If you have any other books like that or any kind words of wisdom please send it to me. God bless you Mr. Williamson. You save my life.”
Tears streamed down my face as I first felt his anguish, and then realized the sheer joy that he discovered when he recognized that Jesus Christ was right there in that hellish jail cell hole with him, and that in spite of everything, (including his black sins), our Lord stands ready to help him through whatever he faces. Better days are always ahead for the faithful.
Yes Lord your message of hope can make anyone “Cry, laugh, and get happy that life could go so wrong, but end up so right!”
It’s not lost on me either that he credits my book for saving his life. That made me feel pretty doggone humble I tell you. I hadn’t even dried the tears from my eyes when I received the following e-mail:
“Mr. Williamson, with the amount of hate mail you have been receiving as of late, I thought it would be a good time to tell you what a positive difference you have made in my life. In the summer of 2011, you were the guest speaker at the St. Teresa Beach Church. I was amazed by your story, but more importantly you encouraged the audience to read the Bible even recommending the NLT version. The next day I went to Books A Million and purchased the recommended Bible and commenced reading. I tried to do two chapters a day, starting with Genesis through Revelation. I missed a few days but am pleased to report I have now finished the last chapter of Revelation.(Took me a little time to get through this Book).
My story is very different from yours in many ways but similar in a few ways. I never was a violent person, excelled in school and had a very successful career in business. I went to church frequently as a child but less frequently as an adult. I had no Bible training and it was not part of my daily routine. I like you made a lot of money. The more I made the further away I moved away from God. Living a hedonistic lifestyle, traveling, partying, God was way down on my priorities. Then came the Great Recession! Much of my wealth evaporated with the crash of the stock market. My real estate holdings lost value. Don’t get me wrong, I am not destitute but certainly have had a reality check. You appeared in my life at the right time. Through my daily Bible reading I began to understand God and the relationship I should have with him. Then I got into the New Testament and I began to understand the relationship I should have with Jesus.
With these understandings, my life has changed. I think about God and Jesus every day and have tried to change my personal behavior. My relationships with my wife and family have never been better. I am recovering financially in a way I never thought possible. Things have happened to me that are inexplicable. Every day though, I feel the pressure of Satan trying to steer me off my path. I fight with him and know he wants me back on his team. Thus far I have succeeded in defending myself but it is difficult. For the first time in my life, I have no fear of dying. I know that I am saved and I can only thank you for being the catalyst in this redemptive process. God bless you for your good works and daily thoughtful insights. Your Brother in Christ!”
It didn’t end there. I continued to receive encouraging e-mail after e-mail from Words for the Day readers yesterday and long into the night, (thanks). I also got another letter from a 31 year old woman who had been incarcerated since the age of 15. She stated she had hope now and wanted me to send copies of my book to her parents where their lives could be changed too.
Yikes!
I never get used to God sending me direct messages. (No, my doubter friends this is no coincidence; it’s not karma; or some unusual circumstance; or accidental lining up of the stars; it is God reaching out to me with a news flash.)
I received:
1. Two thank you letters from folks who’d read my book
2. An e-mail from someone who’d heard me speak
3. And a multitude of e-mails from folks who subscribe to Words for the Day.
So obviously God wanted me to snap out of my little crybaby coma and let me know that in spite of what others think of me or my imperfect life, there are all kinds of people from prison cell dungeons to Wall Street mansions that benefit from hearing my message of hope and I need to get my focus on them and Him and off my insignificant problems.
Okay back to work. The pity party’s over. Much needs to be done and I hope you too will join the fight. If you don’t have a venue already, why not join our worldwide ministry. Our little rag tag army is reaching people for Christ and trying to fulfill God’s Great Commission.
There are vast fields of struggling human souls that are ripe and ready for harvest, all over the world, but more workers and resources are needed. Put your eyes on Jesus, (which means take them off of yourself and your personal problems), and follow wherever He may lead you which I hope is directly to Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministries or equivalent . . .
Matt. 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .