Many years ago, Mr. Bowson was a cart man for the rum and sugar factory in Mt. Bentix, Saint Vincent. His job was to drive the donkey cart with the barrels of rum from the factory to the distribution depot in Kingstown, a distance of twenty-four miles and a good day’s travel on a winding mountain road. Mr. Bowson liked his rum and would stop along the road at the various rum shops in the villages that dot the coastal landscape along the windward side of the island.
Then one Sunday night, Mr. Bowson got saved. Yes, he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His blood to wash away sins.
The next rum run that Mr. Bowson made taught him some valuable lessons. It was Monday morning, and as he went along, he craved a shot of rum. So he decided that at the next town it would do no harm to stop and have just one drink. He figured no one back in his home village would be the wiser. However, when he entered the shop, someone immediately called out, “Mr. Bowson, we hear you got saved last night.”
He realized that he could not have a drink here, and so hurried on. He comforted himself with the fact that there was another shop not far along the road. To his dismay, when he did reach that shop, the same thing happened. Someone called out, “Mr. Bowson, they tell us you got saved on the weekend.” News travels fast in the small communities of a small island, and so it went all down the road from village to village.
The urge for even just a sip became so great that he even tried to suck the cloth that was wrapped around the stopper of the barrels. This proved unsatisfactory, as the corks seemed extra tight and leak free that day, and they were sealed solid.
By the time he reached Kingstown, he realized that the Lord had allowed his testimony to precede him and preserve him from the powerful liquor that has ruined so many lives and homes. He prayed that the Lord would deliver him from its awful power and grip, and the Lord graciously and completely answered that prayer — he never drank another drop. He went on to live his life for Christ, with a bright testimony, and as the story was related to me, soon after this incident he gave up driving the rum cart, as he felt he could not do it for the Lord’s glory.
If you find yourself in the grip of sin, don’t struggle to give up your vice before coming to Christ. Trust Him for salvation and then depend on Him to deliver you from the sin. “He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom” (Job 33:2424Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. (Job 33:24)).