VOICE OF TRUTH FOR TODAY
When You’ve Looked the Devil in the Eye
For a long time, I believed there were certain people beyond redemption.
Then God challenged me in a way I never expected.
My husband, a pastor, befriended a man living in a storage unit. Over time, we learned he was a convicted child molester. Every instinct in me wanted to keep him far away from our church, our family, and our lives. His story touched wounds from my own past, and I struggled deeply with fear, anger, and distrust.
Yet my husband sensed that God was drawing this man toward Himself.
Eventually, the man began attending church. Week after week, I watched him carefully, convinced it was my responsibility to protect everyone around me. Then one Sunday, during worship, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my heart.
“Go tell him I love him.”
I argued. Surely God could send someone else.
But He wouldn’t let me off the hook.
With trembling hands and tears in my eyes, I approached him. As I told him that God knew everything he had done and still loved him, he collapsed in tears. Through sobs, he admitted he had just been asking God if forgiveness was even possible for someone like him.
That morning, he surrendered his life to Jesus.
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”
God showed me something profound that day: I wasn’t looking into the eyes of the devil. I was looking into the eyes of a broken man who desperately needed a Savior.
Only Jesus can transform a heart. Only Jesus can bring true healing, forgiveness, and freedom.
That Sunday, God healed more than one person.
He healed a broken man.
And He healed me, too.
Excerpt from Voice of Truth Magazine
“Coffee Chats” by Tina Kadolph