This morning after six months I was able to visit prisoners at the local prison and preach a message from Matthew 9 on desperate faith. Though it was definitely a joy to be with them again, the true blessing was to hear their testimonies of thankfulness to God.
During our time away I worried about the men there becoming discouraged. Not only would they no longer have Churches visiting, but because of covid-19 regulations most of the day would be spent inside of their cells. It would be easy in a situation like this to become angry or frustrated, and stop living for the Lord.
Instead of bitterness and anger this morning I heard testimonies of gratitude to the Lord for His protection during the pandemic, and daily grace.
Its true that this mornings crowd was much smaller than we used to have (they were sure to social distance) but those men were the truly faithful ones.
The Lord reminded me during our time together this morning that He would always have his remnant. Those true Believers who were completely committed to Him.
In a large crowd you do sometimes have people who have the wrong motivations:
- They come because everyone else is coming
- They come to look spiritual
- They come for selfish reasons (just want out of their prison cell)
- They come to get something from you
The faithful remnant however are motivated to a love for their Savior, and a desire to serve Him.
This is where I can see covid-19 and its affect on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as a blessing. It’s Gods way of separating the pretenders and those with a half-hearted commitment from the truly faithful. Often the greatest trials shine the brightest light upon those who truly follow Christ.
Because God is revealing the faithful remnant my job is to seek them out, and minister to them with Scripture. This means ignoring the temptation to focus only the people who aren’t there (that just makes you angry) and emphasize pouring your hearts into those who are.
I would love to have walked into a packed room at the prison today. But seeing a small group of men who were completely committed to the Lord is much more important than a large crowd.
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