One night I saw something in our meeting I won’t forget.
We often encourage the men to come up to the podium and share a testimony. Many of them are powerful. But one night, an act of faith spoke louder than words.
One of our inmate brothers, who was in a wheelchair for the entire two years he had been in our program, rolled himself to the front.
I had noticed him before from across the room. Quiet. Head tilted. Body weakened. He always looked up with a smile as people walked by.
At the front he reached up with trembling arms, grabbed the edges of the podium, slowly pulled himself to his feet, holding on tightly.
With a shaking body and soft slow voice he firmly declared: “I will stand for Jesus.” He paused then continued,“I will always declare His glory.” He gazed around the room. All eyes on him. No one had seen him stand before.
The room got quiet. Some wiped tears. Others nodded with encouragement and praise.
You could feel it in the room. God was there. We were watching faith in action.
I left that night thinking about him. About the challenges he faces. About God. About the things we all face. What I worry about. And I kept coming back to this: If God could give him the strength to stand, then God can carry me through anything I face.
Sometimes we volunteers think we’re the ones that encourage these men behind bars, and we do. But more often than not, we are the ones who walk out changed.
If you’ve ever wondered what God is doing inside these prison walls…
it’s moments like this.
And it happens because people choose to show up—and God moves through them.
— Dave