I sat and fear began to take over my mind.
I thought about how at any given moment the men sitting in front of me if they chose, could easily overpower my team mates and myself. I thought about how some of the men sitting in front of me could had killed people. I thought about how out of place I was.
In those moments, I lost sight. I let the enemy have more power than necessary. I forgot how much authority I have in Jesus.
When I came back to after several minutes of these absurd thoughts, I wanted to kick myself for thinking those things. How quickly the enemy can sneak in and twist your thoughts is honestly impressive. I let him in and let him take over my mind, even if it was just for a few minutes, it was a few minutes too long for my liking.
What was once fear turned to excitement and a rush of adrenaline. I knew the Lord was up to something good if the enemy was at work. I knew He had plans for my team that morning as we sat in front of sixty prisoners.
I pressed into the Father asking what the morning needed to look like and what needed to be spoken to encourage the prisoners. With only a five minute notice that we were speaking that morning, I knew that the Holy Spirit would have to speak through us and we couldn’t do this of our own strength, nor did we want to.
After praying, the Lord spoke and words of encouragement came not only from me but four of my team mates as well. Not only did all of us have words from the Lord but they all aligned with each other and the message that was preached.
We shared hard parts of our testimonies. We shared about focusing your eyes on Jesus in the midst of the storm instead of focusing on the chaos ensuing around you. We talked about how we shouldn’t live for the approval of man but from the approval of Jesus. We talked about insecurities that we had faced and how Jesus saw us through that.
At the end, it was talked about how Jesus is the potter and we are the clay. He is making us into something incredible, even when it’s messy and hard. If we allow Him time and space, He will create something magnificent.
It was beautiful to watch the Lord work right before my eyes. He took the fear that was once there and the lies the enemy was speaking and turned it into a work of His hands.
