Twelve-year-old “Olivia” walked into the room all dressed in black with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her forehead. She only made eye contact with the floor and stared at it with despair on her face.
Over time, I gained “Olivia’s” trust, and she eventually told me about her painful childhood. She was abandoned at two years old when her mother dropped her off at her grandmother’s house and never returned to pick her up.
Now in her pre-teens, “Olivia” was using drugs to escape the pain of rejection and ran away from her grandmother’s house on multiple occasions. Their relationship was volatile because of “Olivia’s” sinful choices, but she felt powerless to break free from drugs and her painful past.
I shared the gospel with “Olivia” on several occasions, telling her how much Jesus loved and cared about her. Ultimately, she accepted Jesus as her Savior but still battled severe depression and drug use, resulting in her faith waning.
At 16, “Olivia” heard the gospel again during one of our outreaches. Afterward, I watched “Olivia” nearly sprint to the exit in tears, so I followed her to see what was wrong. When I reached her, she told me she needed to leave because Jesus would never accept her after all the bad things she had done.
I shared the truth with her from God's Word for the next several minutes and reaffirmed the gospel. Moments later, "Olivia" repented and recommitted her life to Jesus.
Ten years later, “Olivia” continues to walk with Jesus, and her spiritual growth has skyrocketed from her early days. Jesus delivered her from drugs and brought her a wonderful man to love her unconditionally. They were married in 2018 and just welcomed their second child a few weeks ago.
Never underestimate the power of the gospel to transform someone’s heart and life. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Keep sharing the gospel truth with unbelievers, and never let what you see on the outside convince you nothing is occurring on the inside.
