Lesson 189: A Stranger's Voice

Kentucky Chaplain David Chaltas

A Stranger’s Voice

Her mind raced with the final realization that her life was meaningless. She was now divorced; she had just lost custody of her children and was addicted to meth. All she possessed were the clothes on her back and that old car. She decided she would end it all and began accelerating around the curves. There was a horseshoe curve about twelve miles up the road marked fifteen miles per hour and the ditch was over forty feet deep. That would do the trick. Her torment and pain would end there. She planned to take the curve as fast as that car would go. It would soon be over. They would be sorry; for this Wednesday evening she would breathe her last breath.

She cursed to herself as she recklessly drove faster than her tires would allow and they screamed their displeasure, as they somehow managed to maneuver the curves. Why not go out with a bang she thought and turned the radio on as loud as possible. She found a station playing loud music and she found herself screaming at the top of her voice the words to the song. Sobbing and crying, she drove towards her destiny.

Half way through the second song, a voice came on the radio that was obviously a preacher. She was going around a curve with only a couple miles to go. She could not change the station until she negotiated the curve. But there was something about the voice that was soothing. Now she was not raised in a religious home, and her faith had been shaken by all the trials but yet, there was something about his voice and the words that drew her near. She started to change the channels but his words lingered: “Come unto me all ye who are troubled and I shall give you rest.” He seemed so sincere in his calling and as bizarre as it was, it seemed as if he was talking to her. She slowed down and began to listen.

The preacher stated that his church was open for business and that he welcomed all in the sound of his voice to come unto him. He once again gave the name of the little church in the dell, and she recalled that it was up the road a mile and a half from the curve. Something deep within her compelled her to think for a second. If she stopped and listened for a few minutes, she could later continue her appointment with death. It just seemed to be the right thing to do; to get right with God before ending it all.

In a blur of emotions and feeling numbed by all the pain, she stopped her car and went into the little church that was broadcasting live over the radio. As she opened the door and sat down in the back pew, she heard his voice soothing her, reaching out to her, as he said, “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” She felt within her being a need to listen to every word he spoke. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” “Saved! Could she be saved from herself,” she thought. “My God, will you save a wretch like me?” The answer came immediately by the preacher with the soft voice, as he told of a man so wretched in sin that he did not think he could be saved. The preacher told of John Newton, who was a servant to a slave trader and the all cruelties he did to others. He told of John’s conversion and how, though riddled with sin, God used him to write the greatest hymn of all time. The song was called Amazing Grace, and then choir began to sing. Then with piercing eyes, the little preacher looked at her and stated that no matter how far you have slipped God still had a plan for your life.

She didn’t wait for the altar call. She bounded from her seat, ran down the aisle and threw herself at the altar crying, unashamed of her tears but humiliated by her sins. She cried out for forgiveness, as her spirit moaned for intercession. It was then that she felt the arms of the little preacher. He embraced her as the brothers and sisters of the church gathered around her in a circle of love and laid their hands upon the young women who they had never seen before. They prayed with her and then one lady asked her if she wished to be saved. She quivered with the realization and stated that more than anything she wanted to walk a different path. As she lay on the floor of that little church, she received a new beginning in Christ. All things were made new.

After her profession of faith, the little preacher came over and spoke to her, but something was strange. His voice was different. This was not the man on the radio or the one preaching to her. How could this be? Containing herself no longer she asked who the person was speaking on the radio show that brought her into the little church. The little preacher looked at her with questioning eyes and simply stated, “My daughter, we are a little church with a small congregation. We cannot afford to have a radio ministry.” Now she fully understood. Without a doubt she had found her destiny in a death and an everlasting rebirth. She had found her fate and her life would be forever changed due to a stranger’s voice.

It is said that God works in mysterious ways. Have you ever noticed that in crisis we turn to God and that He can and will meet all your needs? Sometimes His voice speaks directly to us, yet we do not understand until the calamity has passed. When we are able to fall down on our knees and humble ourselves before God’s throne, it is then that we will find our life in harmony and peace. It is at that precious moment that all things become new and our lives potential is fully realized. Listening for His voice, I remain your humbled servant, the old general