Something that is near and dear to my heart is prison ministry. God has given me the opportunity to serve Him through a local Prison ministry. Many stories of God’s grace come from behind bars. Everything in our lives has been sifted through the Lord’s hands. He takes our poor choices, our sin and uses it for our good and for His glory.
God never wastes a hurt. If we will let Him, He will transform us through our suffering. If we don’t let Him then our lives will lack purpose.
We all want to know what our purpose is, like a gift to be opened at Christmas, but very few of us want to know that our purpose will include personal change. When I think of some grand purpose God has for me, I imagine myself already being the best I can be going out to take on a sin ridden world all for God’s glory. Sometimes it takes a cold cell to get someone to STOP and take notice of the almighty God.
George was a man who had worked in prison ministry for over 20 years. He loved the Lord and it was evident in every area of his life. At his funeral many spoke of the work he did. His grandson, who was a pall bearer at his funeral remembered all that his grandfather did and decided to write “Set Free Prison ministries” a letter to thank them and to encourage them in their work for the Lord.
As the letter was read, many remembered working with George and they remembered praying for his grandson. George’s grandson explained in his letter that he had been in and out of prison for 15 years and was now once again going to prison to serve 6 months, leaving his wife and three children to fend for themselves. He went on to thank Set Free for the Bible studies that were being sent to him, and he lamented how he wished he had listened to his grandfather.
George carried a heavy burden for his grandson, so much so, he enlisted the prayers of other believers.
George never got to see the fruit of those prayers, but someday he will. My faith was strengthened as I listened. God is faithful. God is mighty to save. In spite of our poor choices, He is still the author and finisher of our faith.
There are God fearing parents whose children go wayward. Here’s what was going through my head, “Hmm, he was a God fearing man, why aren’t his children perfect? That was always the impression I got in church. For many years I was mortified if my children did anything wrong and then I realized, (or I should say God hit me over the head), things don’t always go the way you think they should.
Another misconception I had was if things were not going great then I must be doing something wrong or else God would not be punishing me. I wonder if George ever thought, “Why is this happening to me, I’ve served the Lord faithfully, why is He not answering this prayer?”
Life almost never looks the way we thought it would but it always looks the way God thought it would. He is infinite. Nothing shocks Him. He knows what we will say and what we will do before we do it. I am finite and I am controlled by time. I am forced to live inside of it. It’s like a cage that God implemented for my protection. We could not handle anything more.
