A descendant of Muhammad, who was an imam and evangelist for Islam, went from attempting to commit suicide to finding new faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
Thomas Samuel’s life reached a crisis point when the former Imam started to doubt his Islamic faith, leading to deep emotional turmoil and eventually multiple suicide attempts. “I decided to take my own life, and that was a tragedy,” Samuel told CBN News.
However, these attempts were not the end for Samuel. He called out to God, and everything changed.
“I took some pills that narrow the blood vessels, and I thought that I am dying, and I started to talk to God for the first time. I told Him I am dying, so do something…save me,” Samuel explained.
God answered Samuel’s cry and spared his life. Still, Samuel questioned whether he had simply failed at his attempt or if God had answered his prayer.
“And I woke up like nothing has happened,” Samuel testified. “My question was, is it the dose? Was it not enough, or the prayer worked?” he explained.
Samuel decided to test his question and made another attempt at his life. Samuel confirmed, it was “definitely not the dose, but the prayer.”
That night, Samuel prayed, went to sleep and had a life-altering dream that kick-started his faith in Jesus.
“I saw that I am running in a very long road in my dreams. I saw a very long road – a lot of tree branches full of thorns chasing me. And, at the end of the road, there is a man standing in front of me. I called him and said, ‘please help me,'” Samuel described. “I don’t know who He is, so He extended His hand, put it on my shoulder, and brought me before Him.”
Although Samuel did not know the man, the man knew Samuel. That man was Jesus and He called Samuel to follow Him.
“I found out that this is Jesus. I have no clue why, but it was just recognition in the dream that this is Jesus. And He looked deep in my eyes and He said, ‘It is your time to follow Me,'” Samuel continued.
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Astonished, Samuel rationalized his dream and, one final time, charged Jesus to prove His identity with a weighty ultimatum.
“I woke up, and I said, ‘You know this is hallucination, maybe because the website I read or something, you know, it’s not true…I mean, how could it be, you know?” Samuel said. “So, I looked to the heavens when I woke up and said, ‘If this is not a joke, if you are really Jesus Christ, whom I have read about on this website, come to me one more time with the same details, otherwise, I will never think of you again.”
Jesus took Samuel’s ultimatum seriously and appeared in his dream with the same message, but with a distinct addition – “Didn’t I tell you that it is your time to follow me?”
Samuel got the message loud and clear.
“The different word, ‘Didn’t I tell you?’ was my clue, my reason to say He was listening!” Samuel exclaimed. “God can listen! Jesus can listen! And people should try that!”
He realized that Jesus not only listens, but personally reveals Himself. For Samuel, this truth not only saved him, but he believes it can save others who do not have easy access to the gospel.
“I think Jesus listens to us when we are frustrated and have no one else. That’s why many people, specifically radicals, who have no source or no way to get to know the gospel, Jesus interferes personally and shows Himself,” Samuel joyfully said.
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Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6 (NIV)
