From Darkness to Victory My Come Back

Apostle Demetric A. Johnson / Previous Adopt-A-Soul Participant

PART 2: continues from Nov/Dec 2022 issue

In September of 2018, I was released from Liberty Correctional Facility. Excitement some would say to be understatement to the feelings for which I felt that glorious day. Finally free from that dark place full of hope and aspirations for my future. Sadly, within a 24-hour period reality hit me like a brick. As I thought, not only was I a convicted felon but also was wrongfully labeled for a crime I didn’t commit. A label I would now wear for the rest of my life. My former friends and colleagues no longer spoke to me, some even whispered behind my back when they saw me. I had been in the restaurant management business prior to incarceration for over 20 years, yet couldn’t even find a job there, because of this label. I was finally hired by one restaurant General Manager based on my experience. Yet when it was sent to their HR Department, I received an email saying they’d chosen to rescind their offer of employment but wished me the best in my continued job search. These types of emails flooded my inbox and suddenly that feeling of despair began to sit in again. As if sensing it I received a brown envelope one day in the mail from Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. inside it was The Christian Outlook and within these pages I found once again the Adopt-ASoul segment. But this time the article was a letter for which I had written while incarcerated. I must admit the words did not seem like my own and took

Jesus states: “...I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.” Matthew 25:36

on a totally different meaning as I read them. Here I was free but sinking back into that darkness. When my own voice spoke from these pages and touched me in ways I simply cannot explain. I immediately entered a 3 day fast for I knew that I needed a word that only God could give me. Clarity and direction that could and would come only from Him.

During this time the story of Abram came to mind when it was time for his elevation, he was required to trust God step out on Faith and move away from all that he knew, cherished, and called life itself. So many times, God directs us to make such a move, yet our fear supersedes our faith. But just as Abram we must trust God that if he has given the vision, He too will give the provision. I will admit like so many others, I wrestled with this thought in my mind and questioned if the direction was really from God. I went to men and women of God for whom I trusted and sought their counsel. Some just told me to pray more while others spoke of all the negative aspects of such a drastic move. As I began to integrate myself back into Ministry, I began to hear that small still voice say “MOVE.” However, again, my fear of the unknown outweighed my faith and I remained in Florida.

In May of 2021, I found myself incarcerated again for violation of probation. Not because I had committed a crime but because I was homeless. And according to the State of Florida I was in violation because I was required to have an approved address. For the next 42 days I would sit in the Local County jail asking myself was this how my life would be. Then one night as I lay meditating, I heard that small voice again say “MOVE,” and at that point I promised God as long as He would go with me and guide me every step of the way I would obey and follow Him unconditionally. On June 22, 2021, I was released from The County Jail and 5 days later I was on a bus headed wherever He led me.

I would find myself in Columbus, Georgia, a place I had never been and nor had ever thought of going.

But since arriving I have seen God move like never before in and around me. I met the most amazing person someone for whom loves, accepts me for me and supports me despite my past, and the lies which were told and the consequences that followed. We will be married in March of this year. I have had the opportunity to partner with a nonprofit for which embodies the very essence of the things I believe, teach and stand upon. One for whom loves despite as Christ Himself loves us. The Non-Profit group Lovebecause 4:19 has shown me that through my love for Christ and those for whom He has created my healing arises. I am no longer a statistic; I am a creature wonderfully made by God for His purpose and unto Him I give all glory. Today, I am free! Free from the pain of rejection, free from the selfdegradation, free to love me as God loves me, and truthfully becoming all, He has created me to be. I went from “You’ll be Back” to a respected part of community. Free from being known as a number to being Apostle Demetric A Johnson, free from a cold iron bunk to a homeowner.

In conclusion if I were to be able to say anything to my brothers and sisters still behind the fence I would simply say trust yourself enough to trust God. His Word declares that He knows what is best for you and His desire is that you should prosper and not fail. Hold firm to the promises of Deuteronomy 28:1-13 and know that indeed you are more than a conqueror. Look not on your present but focus on your future. A future preordained by God and set aside for His divine will and purpose. We have all tried to do it our own way and if we be honest that way has led to failure in the worst way. Now let us try it His way, knowing well that in Him there is no failure. For you are His own and He loves you like none other. We have all made mistakes, whether intentional or unintentional but they do not have to dictate or categorize our future. The pit is all too often the very place we find the light. But once you find it never let it go. Allow it to guide you and in it you’ll find the VICTORY that once eluded you. That light being the very Son of the Living God.