December 4, 2018 – Click here to listen
A friend of mine recently experienced a terrible injustice. She is a faithful Christian and a wonderful person with a heart as big as the state she lives in – Texas. She has followed me on Words for the Day for many years and has enthusiastically supported the Jesus Alliance. A few years back she began writing and asking for prayers for a man with whom she had fallen in love. At the time he was incarcerated. She faithfully wrote letters to him and supported him for many years as he served his time. She asked me on occasion to pray for him which I did, and we even sent him a copy of my book, Miracle on Luckie Street. She was elated when he finally made the decision to follow Jesus.
Well, it turns out that he finally made parole and got out of prison, but he could not join her in Texas due to his parole stipulations mandating that he had to remain in Florida. She faithfully wrote him and came to see him a few times and helped get him started in a local church. He was active in church playing music and occasionally speaking and offering his testimony. The plan was that he would eventually join her in Texas and I suppose the two of them would get married and live happily ever after. She scrimped and saved and was able to buy a house for him. The two carried on a long-distance romance for a couple of years and every now and then she would write and tell me how well he was doing.
Then one day I received an e-mail from her and unbeknownst to him she was going to fly to Florida and pay a surprise visit to him. She had been talking to him on the phone and heard people in the background that sounded like they were partying hard complete with curse words. She suspected that he was falling away from the Lord.
She wrote and described her experience which I edited for space considerations:
“After arriving in Florida I was able to prepare myself for 2 full days and spend a lot of time in prayers and in the WORD. On Sunday I drove to the church he goes to and he was not there. I attended both services. I slowly made my way to the house I purchased for him, and he was not there either, so I went to a restaurant nearby and sat by the window hoping I would see him drive by since it’s his regular way home. Sure enough 20 minutes later I saw him in his car with windows down and a lady was sitting next to him and one of his employees was in the back seat of the vehicle. I waited a little then I grabbed my bag and walked to the house. As I walked, I prayed, and I could hear “Be strong, you can do it!” My heart was beating so hard I could barely contain it. I could see the patio and I could see the 3 of them sitting there. . . . I smelled the cigarettes as I walked closer and I saw they were all drinking beer. He didn’t even get up to greet me.
“Look who’s here?” he said ”
“I was in the neighborhood” I replied.
“All the way from Texas?” he added.
“Is that She?” The woman sitting next to him said turning to him.
“I need to crash here tonight” I told him
“She’s staying the night?” The lady ignored me and again was looking at him.
He didn’t respond, but I said, “Yes I’m staying the night, this is my house, and I paid for it”.
“Well you came at the wrong time, we’re going back to work,” he said.
“Do what you need to do” I said, then I went inside the house without looking at them.
My strength was coming from the Lord there is no doubt. I felt courage, I was courageous! I kept saying in my mind: “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!” They were all outside discussing me. There was food cooking on the stove . . . the house was a MESS, so filthy, not at all the way it was back in June when I had visited him last.
The woman came in to unplug her cell phone: she looked at me with such an ugly stare and I looked at her and . . .
she … GRUNTED at me – A guttural sound coming from very deep inside. Bob, I lived in New Orleans for 2 years as a Nanny, and we would go with other believers on the streets there, preach the WORD, pray for people, feed the homeless and often we would be faced with demon-possessed people, especially during the week of Halloween. Christians from all over would come . . . And I recall those same sounds coming from demonic people. She sounded like them . . . there is no doubt in my mine.
I could tell they didn’t like the presence of our Lord surrounding me near them, because they left less than 15 minutes after I showed up. They all took their beers in the vehicle. Barry told me he would be late. He mentioned he was preparing food for Thanksgiving and they were all supposed to cook that afternoon. He had organized a party for 25 people. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I had messed up their plans. After they left, I looked at the trash and found a huge empty plastic bottle of Vodka with many empty beer cans.
Yes, I was sad, but relieved at the same time. He came back around 8:30pm carrying a large box containing 18 beers: he kept slamming the doors: his car, the patio, the kitchen… I didn’t say a word to him nor him to me. I would have usually cleaned up the mess, (it’s in my DNA), but I didn’t touch one thing. Then he sat on the patio and cooled off a little. He started to complain about his life, his depression, his high blood pressure, and I told him he should have gone to church and heeded the messages ” Change your tune: no more negativity.” He didn’t like that and kept whining.
Finally, I told him to enjoy this evening since it would be the last we would ever share. The night was so quiet and beautiful . . . He told me without me asking that the woman was just a friend/employee at times like today. I told him it didn’t matter anymore to me. For me it was over. I did ask him for one last favor – to worship our Lord one last time together (God has blessed him with musical talents . . . he plays all instruments).
“I can’t . . . I’m not right with God right now. I can’t play.” At least he was honest… but the statement made me cry (as I am right now) and I did get mad at him for hurting our Lord and running away from Him and forgetting ALL HE has done for him . . . He couldn’t say anything. I slept on the couch and the next day nothing else was said aside from him wishing me a safe trip. I left him a letter ending it all.
I had to tell his Mom and asked her to pray for her son’s safety as he told me that he drinks and drives. She said we should not pray for that but pray for the Lord to change her son’s heart.
Well Bob and Teresa life goes on and this has been another GREAT experience in my life. (I don’t like the word failure)
Thank you for being there and for your prayers. I know I need to continue to go through this pain, accept this big loss and I Love God even more than I did before and for that I am so very thankful . . .
Thank you for listening. Love you both very much.
HE is s-o-o-o-o-o-o good!”
Only God could give this young woman the attitude she displays in this letter. I’ve had my share of hard times but cannot recall addressing those bad times as “another GREAT experience.” How many of us could say such a thing after experiencing such gut-wrenching heartache and betrayal: “this has been another GREAT experience in my life. (I don’t like the word failure.)” I am more inclined to pray as the Psalmist did: How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? —Psalm 13:1–2
My friend realizes something that I struggle with and that is intimacy with God is often borne in the furnace of fiery affliction. Job, who endured unspeakable suffering, said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
There’s a door in our very souls that swings wide open during times of suffering. It is at those times of pain, that we experience God at a deep and profound level. We all experience pain in life, whether emotional or physical. No pain is alike, we must all walk the journey and path that God has for our lives, yet God promises that there is a purpose in all pain. We can continue each day knowing that our God loves us.
Please pray for my friend right now.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.