Christmas season is supposed to be a happy time of the year, but it is not for everyone. This weekend I went on a prison ministry event and it is a sad time for those incarcerated. The suicide watch is up and in fact we were asked by the officer in charge to relay information about anyone who might tell us that they were considering suicide so he could get them some help.
It is not a good time for people outside either. I ask you to join me in praying for the lady that sent me the below e-mail last night.
Dear Mr. Williamson, I have spoken with you before regarding my drug addict daughter. She is in prison now. I have raised her daughter for 14 years. I have lost my mom and am trying to be a caregiver for my husband and 84 year old dad. I feel like I want to get in my car and never look back. I can’t afford a week away. I just want a place to go to seek God and give me peace. Stress is overwhelming. Please pray for me.
Jesus came to this earth to destroy Satan’s hold over us. It is a time to celebrate His birth, but so many want to reject Him. I saw on the news this morning where the ACLU is suing an entire town because they have a cross on the top of their Christmas tree. All because of one person that said he received “irreparable harm” in seeing it. Unless he changes his ways, his irreparable harm will be incurred when He meets God and accounts for his unforgiven sins.
Sigh . . . It’s hard to get in the Christmas mood when we see the devastating effects of sin. I’m so thankful that I have my loving Father in heaven. I told those inmates that there is hope, and coincidentally I told our team of volunteers at the worship service the night before we went into the prisons and jails the same thing. After I spoke, someone texted me a photo of me speaking with the caption, “Speaking about hope with the writing on the wall.”
God offers hope. Those inmates, that poor woman who is under so much stress, and millions of others who are suffering need to keep that in mind. So, as you enter this time of joy and celebration save some time to pray for those who need hope. Pray that God will draw close to them and vice versa. This life can beat us down with trials, sorrows and debilitating worries. It is times like these that intense prayer is needed. Pray that God will fill all who suffer with His love, hope, and that God will fill them with peace that surpasses all understanding.
Jer. 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
December 12 2016 – Click here to listen