The Roadside Psalmist by Pastor Vinod sk - HTML preview

Chapter 10: A Thief’s Redemption

Victor couldn’t shake off the old man’s words. As the night deepened, he sat alone in the abandoned shop, staring at the floor. His men had gone about their usual business, but he felt restless.

"What do you gain by taking from the weak?"

Samuel had spoken with such certainty, such peace. Victor had spent years taking from others, always believing that survival meant looking out for himself. But the old beggar—he had nothing, yet he was richer in spirit than anyone Victor had ever met. The next evening, Victor found himself drawn back to the roadside where Samuel sat, playing his guitar. He stood in the shadows, listening. The song was slow, filled with words of hope and healing:

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…

He makes me lie in green pastures…

Even when I walk through the valley of shadow…

I fear no evil, for You are with me…"

Victor clenched his fists. Why do I feel like this? As the song ended, Samuel lifted his head and looked straight at him. “I knew you’d come back,” Samuel said with a small smile. Victor stiffened. “I… I don’t know why I’m here.”

Samuel motioned for him to sit. After a long hesitation, Victor walked over and lowered himself onto the pavement beside him.

The streets were busy, but in that moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the city.

Samuel let the silence settle before speaking. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to take from others?”

Victor frowned. “You? You’re just a beggar.”

Samuel chuckled. “I wasn’t always. I once had a home, a family. I had money, comfort... and pride.” His voice grew quieter. “I had a wife and two children who loved me, but I loved myself more. I hurt them with my arrogance. And then I walked away, thinking I could find something better. But all I found was emptiness.”

Victor listened, his expression unreadable.

“I lived with another woman, thinking she would bring me happiness, but I lost everything— my family, my wealth, my health. Soon, I was nothing but a broken man. I became sick and weak. I had no one to turn to. I became just like the people I once looked down on. A beggar.”

Victor swallowed. “Then what happened?”

Samuel’s eyes softened. “I met Jesus.”

Victor scoffed. “What, He just appeared to you?”

Samuel smiled. “Not in the way you think. But He found me in my lowest place. I heard someone singing about His love, just like I do now. And something inside me broke. I cried out to Him. I told Him I had nothing left, that I had ruined my life. And yet... He still accepted me.”

Victor’s jaw tightened. “And now you just sit here, singing?” Samuel nodded. “I sing because He changed me. I sing because He provides for me, and through me, He provides for others. I have never lacked anything, not even when I gave away all that I had.”

Victor shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Samuel chuckled. “It doesn’t, does it? But that’s how God works. His ways are not our ways.”

Victor stared at the ground. His whole life, he had believed that only the strong survived. That the world was cruel, and you had to take what you could get before someone else did. But here was an old man, with nothing of his own, living in complete trust that God would take care of him. And somehow... he was right.

“Victor,” Samuel said, his voice gentle, “you don’t have to keep living like this.” Victor’s hands curled into fists. “I don’t know anything else.” Samuel placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can start again. Jesus gives second chances. No matter how far you’ve fallen, He will lift you up.”

Victor felt something inside him crack—like a dam breaking. He had spent years building walls around his heart, but now, for the first time in his life, he felt the weight of his own sins. He dropped his head into his hands. “I’ve done so many bad things… I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

Samuel smiled. “None of us do. But Jesus gives it freely. You only have to ask.” Victor looked up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “How? What do I do?”

Samuel’s voice was steady. “Pray with me.”

There, on the dusty roadside of Millwood City, a thief bowed his head and repeated the words after Samuel.

“Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I have lived in darkness for so long, but I don’t want to live like this anymore. Please forgive me. Cleanse my heart. Make me new. I receive now the forgiveness of my sins from the hand of Jesus Christ and accept Him as my Lord and Saviour and I give my life to You. Help me to follow You from this day forward. Amen.” As Victor lifted his head, a strange peace washed over him. The guilt was still there, but something was different. It no longer crushed him—it no longer defined him. Samuel grinned. “Welcome home, son.”

Victor exhaled a shaky breath. “What do I do now?”

Samuel chuckled. “Follow the One who called you.”

Victor nodded. He didn’t know what his future held, but for the first time in years, he knew he didn’t have to face it alone.

He had met Jesus.

And that changed everything.