Good or Bad for a Reason & a Season

Do you believe God puts people in your life for a reason? Good people and bad people? Has God ever asked you to pray for someone you thought was hopeless? Maybe you thought they were so bad even prayer couldn’t help.

 Over the last 4 months, God brought a young man into my life that has completely inspired me. He is 17 years old, in jail, and completely sold out to Christ.

 I know some of you are skeptical. Seventeen and in jail? Sold out to Christ? The two don’t exactly go together, do they?

Maybe not, but think about your Bible. How many books in the Bible are written from prison? What about Joseph? A young boy wrongly accused, put in jail, and rescued for the sheer purpose of saving God’s nation. Can God use the good and bad people in our lives?

About 4 months ago, this young juvenile came up in a conversation I was having with another student. The Spirit stirred me to really pray for the kid. I knew the boy had been arrested, was formerly in gangs, a heavy drug user, and the typical stereotype of trouble. I continued to pray daily and as God would have it, the kid showed up in the hallway at the church where I serve one random morning. We stood there for about an hour and talked about life, the future, and choices. He shared his heart and struggles. I asked him to commit to coming to church every Sunday until Christmas and he agreed.

One evening, about a month later, I was standing in the kitchen cooking one of my gourmet meals, “Hamburger Helper.” I received a text that read, “Mrs. Stephanie can I tell you what Jesus did in my life Sunday?” I replied, “Yes! Can you call me now and tell me?” I was EXSTATIC!!! My phone immediately rang.

The young man proceeded to tell me how he woke up the previous Sunday morning and felt something telling him to go to church. He tried in many ways to resist it but couldn’t. He walked to church after fighting temptations from friends to stay home and went to small group Bible study. He said, “The teacher in my room described my life. Everything he was saying was me.” When he and a friend left the room, the friend said, “Have you been talking to that guy? He knew your life.”

His friend persuaded him to leave after Bible Study and not stay for the worship service. As he was walking home, he kept feeling something inside of him saying, “Go back.” He could not fight it anymore and headed back to church. He sat in the service listening to a sermon that was written directly for him. The preacher knew nothing of his life but every word spoken was intended for the troubled teenager.

At the end of the service, he said, “The man that was talking told us to bow our heads and pray. When I bowed my head, the tears started pouring out and wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t control it.  I felt all the anger in me coming out with every tear.” He continued to describe how a peace came over him that he had never experienced before. He said, “Mrs. Stephanie, I talked to my friend after church and I gave my life to Jesus!” He was SO excited.

As I sat there stirring noodles and ground beef, tears rolled down my cheeks. Once again, my God graciously and mercifully reached down from heaven and saved a lost little child.

The young man had to hurry off the phone because a friend was coming to pick him up for Bible Study and he didn’t want to be late. I laughed to myself. If only we were all so hungry for God’s word and to grow in our relationship with Him.

The teenager still had to go to court and face the charges pressed against him. Yes, he was guilty and sentenced 3-6 months in juvenile detention. When we visited him there after his first week, he enthusiastically told us how he already shared Christ with a boy there.

 I’ve never seen a person so on fire for Jesus…hungry for the word, anxious to share his faith, and feeling so deeply forgiven and loved. I am so thankful God allowed me to meet this teenage boy and to see His mighty power displayed in the life of one seriously hurting soul.

Sometimes God puts what the world calls good and bad people in our lives for a reason and sometimes just for a season. No matter who  God brings or why, we must be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading to pray and willing to show a little love along the way.