Good Morning.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 | NIV
I have the honor of getting to visit a local prison through my Church. The Church sends a team every Tuesday and we get to present the prior weekend’s service the the inmates. We also get to speak to them, pray with/for them and just be there for them. It is a most humbling experience and I think I have written about it before. This testimony is about something that happened this week. We go in teams to the prison and each team only has to go once a month. I usually go a lot more than that because of the fulfillment that I get and my job is very understanding and encourages me to do this. Due to a very busy season at work, I have not been able to go for about 6 weeks and it has been pulling on me to get there. This was the week to get back and what a week it was. I also knew that it was a week that I was to help lead and speak to the inmates. I had something prepared to say, it was something that I prepared weeks ago and knew this was the time, I thought)
The enemy
I had planned on going to the prison on Tuesday and set my work week up to allow it. I walk into work Tuesday morning to find that we had a major equipment failure (Large walk-in refrigerator) was not working and we lost a lot of product and had a major mess on our hands. I was ready to call the team and let them know that, once again, I can not attend the service this evening. Thanks to God, I realized it was not just a piece of equipment failing but the enemy wanting to keep me from something I felt called to do. After realizing that this was only going to be a distraction, I reset myself up to get the work done and not miss the prison. It created a bit of stress but who said getting the work of God done was going to be easy.
1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Second Distraction
I get through the work challenge by God’s grace and guidance only to realize that the five pages of notes that I had prepared weeks prior were nowhere to be found. I thought that I had them already and just have no idea what happened to them. Of course, with the limited time to look between work and having to leave, I could not locate them, so I put my faith in God ( I already committed to going and speaking), I head out to meet the team and drive to the prison.
Side Note
We do not do a whole sermon live. We do introductions, messages and a scripture presentation before a video of the service from the weekend prior. So everyone going usually sees the service ahead of time. As I said, work has been crazy and I did not attend the Church this weekend, so I had no idea what the service was about.
Trip To the Prison
The ride to the prison takes a little over the hour and there were four of us going. We usually fellowship in the car and chat away. Well, I had nothing prepared, was stressed from the challenges at work and brought a pad of paper with me to jot some notes down. I prayed, asked God for guidance and went to google for a trusty verse to begin the process of what to say. I put it in God’s hands because I had nothing.
Let Him Lead and You Will Never Get Lost
During the ride, I prayed and asked God for His words, I read different scripture and made some notes. We get to the prison and get all set up and then it is time to start. One of the other guys does the opening and introduces me. I walk up, take the mic and begin with a prayer. Then I look at my measly chicken scratch notes and begin. I speak for about 10 minutes and start with “What are you worth?” and “What value do you see in the mirror?” The verses that I was lead to in the car were Luke 12:6-7, James 4:7 and finish with Romans 8:28.
Service Begins
The video begins and we had a guest Pastor speaking. and He begins in Romans 8 and his first words are “What is your worth”
Mind Blown
I am now watching the service for the first time and just smiling as big as I can. I knew! I knew that I had a secret with God at that moment. I was the only one in the room that knew that I did not see the service, wrote the notes and prepared on the way down and it led right into what the service was about. I was just thanking God for the words and direction that He had given me. He had given to me so freely not because I did the right thing (almost didn’t attend, missed Church and lost my notes) but because I let him.
Secret Shared
As the video ends and we close for the night, an inmate comes up to me and asks me to confirm that I didn’t see the service prior to what I said. I confirmed that for him and asked how he knew. He just said that it was laid on his heart that tonight was God’s intervention. Seed Planted. God Revealed.
The definition of Faith
For me that was an amazing example of what our faith in God looks like. I knew the facts. I didn’t see the service, I wrote the notes on the way down and I witnessed how what looked like pre planned introduction was God doing his “thing”. But I had no tangible evidence that I could present to prove it to someone else. They could say that I was lying or I must have head it from someone else but I know that did not happen. Only God could truly share it with who He wants to know it.
Car Ride Home
Once we got in the car, the three other guys realized what had happened as well. They confirmed that I was making the notes in the car and asked if I saw the service. God’s goodness shared.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for all of Your goodness and direction in my life. I pray that I am always able to keep a heart open to You and know when to submit and be led. You are always faithful and will never lead us astray. Lord, I thank You for showing the amazing works that you do in such spectacular ways. It is not always a mountain moving but can be as small as a well timed verse. Each have their value and the impact is just the same. Father, I thank you and pray that I am always able to distinguish between the noise of the world and your quite whisper of direction.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
