Yesterday I wanted to quit the World Race.
I wanted to give up and go home. You know some days you just feel like it’s all for nothing. Some days you feel like no matter what you do, you’re not making a difference.
Today is not one of those days.
Today my team marched into Mokhotlong prison in Lesotho. We glanced at the board to the right as we entered: 77 men: 14 murders.
Ice breaker: a game.
My first thought “getting these men rowdy, not a good idea.” However, as the laughter filled the courtyard, I knew we’d made the right decision. Their contrasting white smiles against their their dark skinned faces calmed the stirring anxiety within me. As we laughed, the reason why they are here faded into the background. In this moment, we weren’t criminals. We weren’t preachers. We were all just people.
After the game, we lifted our voices in a joyful noise. We rehearsed our song from last week and taught them a new one “behold He comes, riding on the clouds, shining like those sun. At the trumpet call, lift your voice. It’s the year of jubilee. Out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes. There’s no God like Jehovah!”
After the practice round looking like a bunch of stiffs moving their lips, I told them to get rowdy. (Wait didn’t I just think that was a bad idea?) The next round looked more like what I imagine worship in heaven to look like. We sang, played instruments, and danced before the Lord.
After our hearts were full with praise and our cheeks sore from smiling, we shared the Word of God with these men. Kayla stepped forward and simply yet precisely shared the account of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17.
We related it to them in 3 ways:
1. David was an unlikely hero of this story. He was small and without armor. Yet, he sleighed the giant with only a slingshot and a stone. The Lord chooses the weakest and smallest men sometimes to defeat the largest enemies. He prepared David with all He needed for battle: Him.
2. Our giants can often represent our sin. When we first look at them, they seem far too big of a problem to overcome. They are. If David would have entered into battle with the oversized clanky armor offered to him instead of the Almighty God, this story wouldn’t have ended the same. However, with David entering battle with God as His protector and commander, He made the impossible possible.
3. Daniel knew who the real enemy was. He wasn’t fooled or distracted by the giant in front of Him. He knew that he was fighting against “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world.” David put on the armor of God. For the Word says “stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes put on the readiness to preach the Good News of peace with God. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
I broke down what it meant to put on the armor of God:
Belt of truth – our belt wraps around our core, the strongest part of our body. It holds the rest of our armor together. The truth comes from knowing the difference in Satan’s distractions of who the enemy is and the truth of who we are really fighting. Satan wants to make us believe our hatred, jealously, anger, and resentment for our brother is because of what they have done. The truth is that Satan is constantly working behind the scenes. Every evil thought or action is instigated by him.
Body armor of God’s righteousness – comes from knowing that our righteousness is not our own. We are filthy sinners that can never earn our way to God. However, Jesus Christ came to the earth and died on the cross to save us from our sins. When we become a believer, God places His robe of righteousness on our shoulders. Everything we have done is wiped clean. We remind ourselves that we are only righteous through Him.
Shoes of readiness to share the Good News – this means always being prepared to tell people what Jesus Christ has done for you and for them.
Shield of Faith – when David stepped out in battle with Goliath, he had faith that God would show up and fight this battle with him. Our shield of faith is to always remain steadfast in trusting God’s character in the moments of attack from Satan.
Helmet of Salvation – our salvation brings us into the family of God. We are now a child of God, an heir to His throne. This gives us accessibility to His power through the Holy Spirit. It is worn as a helmet so that we may never forget who we are, so that Satan’s lies may only bounce off from us.
Sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God. We must know the Word in our hearts so that in times of battle we are prepared to whip out our weapon to fight against the evil one. “For the Word of God alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword.” Hebrews 4:12
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18
How do we put on the armor of God? Prayer.
I pressed in, “for Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy you! He wants to take you away from your family, your job, and your future! He wants you to stay right here for the rest of your lives. He wants to make you miserable. Defeated. So that God can’t use you. However, God the Father knows exactly what got you here. He knows everything you’ve ever done, yet He still loves you!! He sent His own perfect son to pay the price for your sin, not His, yours.. and mine. He wants to give you peace and joy and hope for a better future. He offers you freedom, right now. But you have to choose to accept it. You can’t stay on the fence of living for Satan and your own desires and receiving the love and forgiveness of God. You have to choose a side. Which will you choose?
Living for the world, that’s easy. Living for God. That’s hard.
Are you going to choose to hold onto that hatred and anger? Or are you going to forgive? Let it go.
If you want to step into freedom I want you to stand up. God says ‘if you acknowledge me before men, I will acknowledge you before my father in heaven.”
Nearly 20 men stepped forward.
Some who are already believers, asking for prayer for their struggles.
2 young men wanted to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
I got to lead both of these men into the family of Christ. PRAISE GOD.
One of the young men, even after our prayer of salvation, hung his head, unable to look me in the eyes from the weight of his sins. I lifted his chin and told him “hold your head high, for all that you have done is now wiped clean. You are covered in the righteousness of God. Leave your shame and go.” Tears welled up in his eyes as they locked into mine before he turned and walked away.
The other young man, when I asked what brought him to this decision, responded “I am just tired of living like a sinner.”
Aren’t we all? The world never satisfies the longing in our hearts for more. We are all designed for so much more than we settle for: believers and unbelievers.
Today I walked away from that prison on cloud 9. I burst out in shouts of joy; for today, God reminded me that it’s not all for nothing.
