Raynard Dugger was just a young boy when he learned about life in the streets. From there he got involved in illegal activities that ultimately landed him in jail. But his life finally turned around when he met Jesus. This is Raynard’s life-changing testimony of deliverance.
Life Before Jesus
Raynard grew up in a neighborhood that was filled with a lot of crime, violence, and drugs. It was from that community that he got exposed to illegal activities, and it didn’t take him long to get directly involved. His family attended church, but to Raynard, church was just a place where people go to feel better, and he had no desire for anything spiritual.
His families struggles back then acted as a catalyst for him to live in the streets. He started selling drugs when he was just 12 years old and from there he became a drug dealer and even carried a gun for protection.
Eventually, he started believing that becoming a big time drug dealer would let him build something for himself. After living that lifestyle for 10 years, at the age of 22 years old, he used his gun to take somebody’s life, and landed himself in jail with a life sentence.
Hearing God’s Voice
After being locked up for first degree murder, Raynard had thoughts of committing suicide. He planned how to make it happen but just before he could execute it, he heard God’s voice in his cell. He went from wanting to end his life to suddenly feeling freedom and joy. He knew that it was God, and immediately he felt loved.
He surrendered his life to Jesus that day. The next morning, he called his mom about what happened to him and since that day, he has lived in an indescribable joy. Most people would think a murderer deserves to die, but for Raynard, he was amazed that God would want him. “I realized my life before Christ didn’t have true love,” He said.
The Journey to a transformed life
God mightily used Raynard to preach the gospel while incarcerated, but it was a long and hard journey for him. There were plenty of moments of guilt, shame and feelings of being undeserving. But the Lord did not leave him to fend for himself during the trials he faced.
In fact, God moved on his behalf and his 20-year sentence was eventually reduced to 10 years. Even the prosecutor who called him a menace to the community wrote a letter to the judge to say, “I believe in the change in this man’s life.”
Raynard got to go home after serving 6 years and 8 months inside prison. He continued to be on fire for the Lord, got a job, got married, and had a child. Though life got in the way sometimes, Raynard now knew that the Lord would never forsake him. God not only set him free from the prison walls, but also gave him deliverance from his old way of life.
