"For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help." Psalm 72:12
I'm not sure why 51 year-old Wayne Brown walked in the door one morning at Village Oaks to talk. But he did. When I asked him to tell me his story, one of the first sentences out of his mouth was: "It may be hard to believe...but I have been delivered."
Wayne lost everything and everyone to drugs. But his mother had planted seeds in his heart from when he was young. She planted the Word of God. He never forgot.
"I kept crying out to God," he said.
He ended up in court on a drug charge. The judge sentenced him to 4 years in prison.
And then God showed up.
In this case, He showed up in the form of a public defender who happened to be in the courtroom as Wayne was sentenced. She came over to him and told him she was going to take his case to the Magistrate Judge and be his advocate. Because of her advocacy, his sentence was reduced from 4 years to 6 months.
"I know God did it for me. And in those months in jail, something changed in me," he said.
He ended up at the Bridge in 2007. He had been rejected by 5 programs, including the Gateway program, because of his one-and-only drug charge.
And then God showed up.
"I was sitting at the dominoes table on a Monday morning when my Care Manager brought me a letter." The letter was from the Gateway program...he had been accepted. He got an apartment at Village Oaks.
I asked him to tell me about his deliverance. "I still think about doing those old things sometimes. But now I know I can resist. The Word says 'resist' the devil and he will flee. It works! It really works!"
"Now I know who my enemy is. Satan. But I can win. I am no longer walking in fear."
"I have a lot of compassion for those enslaved to drugs. The drugs are not really the major problem. The major problem is not being in Christ. If you are not in Christ, the devil is going to tear you apart."
Wayne is going to work with us on a prayer meeting for Village Oaks. I told him others need to hear his testimony. He can't wait. He'll also be a part of our "3550 Commission" (referring to Village Oaks' address). The purpose of the Commission is to pray and work for transformation here.
Wayne Brown's story began with his mother planting the Word in his heart. It includes painful and dark times. Even homelessness. His story includes God showing up as his advocate in supernatural fashion. And Wayne Brown's story is one of deliverance. Glory to God.
-- Dean Wilson
