It was at the age
of 41 that by the grace of God alone I became a believer in His Son, Jesus
Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
As an unbeliever in
God I never could get my head around the Theory of Evolution that said there
was once a big bang and something came from nothing. I’d worked with explosives
for several years whilst in the army and never saw order come from blowing
things up. Only chaos ensued. The world was to perfect for it to all have
happened by chance. To also be told we came from apes was an insult to me. I
knew there must be a god of sorts but it was a god I’d made up in my own mind.
When I died and came before my god I was going to tell him what a good person I
was and he was going to let me into his heaven. I was a drunkard, a liar, a
fornicator and a blasphemer and they were just a few of God’s commands I had
broken. I am an ex paratrooper and I could be a very violent man at times. I
had a terrible problem with road rage. Worst of all though I did not believe or
follow the One who died for my sin on the cross, Jesus Christ.
I used to keep in
touch with a childhood friend of mine called Rachel Westlake. I used to visit
her from time to time. In Dec 2004 I visited her and after asked her if she’d
like to go out for a drink. Rachel is a believer and she knew that this was
difficult for her to do as to be shackled to an unbeliever breaks the Word of
God. When I visited though she felt the LORD say to her “he’s ready” but she
did not understand what He meant. I was ready. I was a broken man brought low
by the LORD with a crippling back condition which I have to this day. I’d had
two nervous breakdowns to that point and I was in a bad way. I needed to be
broken though and it took six years to get to this point. God is love and when
you belong to Him He never gives up on you. That evening went well and we
continued to see each other. Rachel gave me some ground rules which I found
quite amusing but was willing to go along with. I’d never had a woman give me
such rules in a relationship before.
Rachel was very
involved with her local church working with the youth, singing and various
other things. She didn’t used to speak about it much and eventually I got a bit
frustrated with it all and invited myself to her church. Watch out though to
anybody who was going to talk to me about God! How ridiculous was that? I was
going to be in a church for goodness sake. That’s sin for you. I thought the
church was ok. They were kind and I got a nice cup of tea and cake as well. I
was lonely and it seemed an ok place to be. I never got convicted of sin whilst
there though. I wouldn’t sing the songs because I didn’t believe in the One
they were singing about. God was already working in me though. I had a very
dysfunctional relationship with my family. It was a love hate type. I was
softening to them all and beginning to love them as I should. Jesus was
changing me. He absolutely loves family.
Three months later
I was saved. One day on leaving church I picked up a booklet called Just Grace.
It was good and it explained the Gospel quite clearly but it didn’t actually go
into what sin was and what a sinner I was. God would set me straight on that
later. By the time I got to the end of the booklet I was on my knees with tears
streaming down my face, declaring to God that I would follow Him and His Son. I
believed that Christ died for me and that He had risen from the grave. I
believed He was coming again. I was serious with God but I needed Him to prove
Himself to me by helping me with my road rage. I used to be a lorry driver so my
day to day life was horrendous on the road. That evening on becoming a believer
I had a wonderful sense of peace come upon me and a real feeling of belonging.
It was wonderful but then God is.
The next morning
was a beautiful one. The sun was shining and the sky didn’t seem to have a
cloud in it. I stood on the drivers side of my lorry with tears streaming
again, asking God to prove Himself and help me with my terrible, destructive
road rage. He did it and took it out of me. That was the best days driving I’d
ever had and I’ve never suffered with this same sin again. The colours were so
sharp that day and I drove with a smile constantly on my face. What a day that
was! What a LORD He is.
Life has not been
the same since. I shared with Rachel and others how I now believed and loved
God. Rachel and I became married and I later was
baptised in the same church. Since becoming a believer life has greatly changed.
A different set of problems have come but God is by my side. He has promised
never to leave me nor forsake me. To Jesus goes all the glory and credit. He is
my Lord.
I now preach on the
streets of Taunton sharing the Good News with sinners of how the Saviour died
for them if they would but believe. Ten years ago if someone had come to me and
told me that I was going to be a believer in Jesus and preaching His Gospel on
the streets of my home town I would have thought they were crazy! God’s ways are
not our ways. He is the Almighty. To God be the glory. Great things he has
done. Gen 1:1, 1 Cor 15:3-9.
Mike Overd,
immanuel.outreach@yahoo.com
+44 (0)1823 443441
immanuel.outreach@yahoo.com
+44 (0)1823 443441
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