One of our ministries this month was to go to a prison…..the details other than that were unknown.
I had no idea what to expect walking into this prison, but God had pumped me up for whatever was about to come. Walking through the maze of outdoor hallways I started to feel slight nerves trickle in. They had given us little wooden tokens with numbers that were our tickets out of there. No pressure….
We came to the door and heard synchronized voices which made me feel like I was walking into the Dark Knight Rises with chanting prisoners.
The first thing I saw were balloons and men greeting me with huge smiles and handshakes. It looked like we were about to fiesta! Then I realized the voices I heard were men singing worship songs. We had walked into the their worship service that’s held everyday in the prison courtyard.
Many different emotions flooded my mind and tears came to my eyes as I watched these men worship. The worship of these prisoners was inspiring. I can still see their faces that emanated pure adoration and deep gratitude mixed with desperation for the God who saved them.
(Photos taken by Tabernáculo Bíblico Bautista Colonia España, Santa Ana)
As I was praying that morning about what to share if God spontaneously asked me to, He gave me 3 words. Hope was the first one and brought me to Colossians 1:27 which talks about Christ in us which is the hope of Glory. Before I got there, I assumed that these people definitely needed to hear about hope because they lived in such a hopeless place, a prison. Then God with all of his ironic glory showed me that I was actually filled with HOPE after walking into this place.
The other words God led me to that morning were Future Glory (Romans 8:18-24). I wanted whoever I met to know that God’s future incredible glory would be revealed in us in heaven. Again with God’s glorious irony, he showed me that His future glory was reflected in the faces of these men as they worshipped.
God has placed many things in this world that are reflections of His future glory so that we will yearn even more for what is to come. It has yet to be revealed to us because no one will hope for what they already have, but we do have the reflections….
In the faces of the prisoners as they worship
In the tears of a homeless woman who says she is blessed by God
In the grateful tears of a teammate who God physically saved her life (see elizabethogletree.theworldrace.org)
In the incredible view that is overlooked by a stinky dump where over 60 children work to survive
(Instagram picture taken by Laura Novak. The view from the dump.)
Being a christian is such a mystery. To have hope in hopeless places, to find glory in despair, and beauty in ashes….it’s a mystery and it’s ironic but it’s glorious and it’s the way my God changes lives.
Search for the reflections of His future glory in your life….it will increase your faith, hope, and make you yearn all the more for what He has in your future.
Cheers to redeemed prisoners, hope in hopelessness, mysteries, and future glory,
Jen
