Several years back, one day when I was at home visiting my parents, I received a phone call. The caller identified himself and said that he wanted to meet me urgently. I said I was busy and would meet him the next day after my work at the clinic. He came the next day at around 12.30 pm and met me at my clinic. He told me that he had been convicted for drug abuse and as an accomplice in a murder case and was in jail for the past several years.
While in jail, he had come across a couple of my books, "Your Future" & "Poison" and after reading that and knowing the truth, he had repented of his sins and prayed to God for forgiveness. He said that "God" had answered his prayers and with good behavior, his sentence was cut short and he was released just a week back.
I extended the right hand of fellowship to this man and invited him to church, helped him financially and gave him several of my books to further his spiritual life.
He asked me to urgently pray that he may get a job and I did. A week later, he came to our church and I allowed him to give his testimony. We prayed for him as a church.
A couple of days later, the Lord showed me a dream one night. In the dream, I am standing at a junction near our church, waiting for this man. Suddenly, I see this man coming out of a shop, smoking a cigarette. I am surprised and as I approach him, he starts walking away laughing wickedly.
I tell him that what he is doing is against the Word of God and a child of God shouldn't do such things. He just laughs and walks away. The dream ended there. I prayed for this man that he may not go back to his old ways and we prayed as a church too.
For a month or so, I did not have any information about his whereabouts; then I came to know through a friend that he had again been convicted on charges of drug abuse and was jailed again.
What the Lord had shown in the dream was true. He had gone back to his old ways and was now paying the price for it.
Often I think, "God is so good" and gives everyone several chances to "repent" and become a part of his kingdom, but some just waste these chances and turn their backs on God.
The Bible says,
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14)
