Devank was well-known throughout his village in India, but for a very dark, dangerous reason. He was an anti-Christian extremist infamous for his aggression toward believers. Whenever he could, he would speak out against Christians, organize protests outside of churches and intimidate any Christian who tried to share the Gospel.
But just like Saul on the road to Damascus, this persecutor of believers was about to meet the Lord.
After hearing that a local champion named Dinpal planned to lead a prayer meeting nearby, Devank grabbed a weapon and found their place of worship. The Christians had no idea what he had planned. Devank stood in the back of the room, his finger poised on the trigger. At the end of the service, he planned to unleash his weapon upon the crowd.
Unaware of the danger, the church worshipped and sang their praises to God. Dinpal led the service with stories from the Bible and shared about Jesus. Meanwhile, Devank took it all in.
All of a sudden, an overwhelming and unexpected sense of God’s presence hit Devank. He was stunned and overcome. God’s Spirit was so palpable, Devank felt unable to carry out his attack.
Shaken by the feeling, Devank approached Dinpal after the service and wanted to learn more about this powerful Jesus that these Christians followed. Dinpal answered Devank’s questions and prayed for him to be changed by Christ’s love.
Months passed. God’s transformational power began to change Devank’s behaviour. He gave up his life of violence, began attending church and surrendered his life to Jesus, receiving Him as Saviour. Two of the members from the extremist group that Devank belonged to also saw the change in Devank. They too are now walking in new life with Jesus!