I Yield to the Chair

There she stood with her minister, tears streaming down her face. She had expectations of seeing him on this cold rainy night. He wasn't allowed any visitors this evening.

On the long walk to class on bare concrete floors and between concrete walls, her tears stained my mind of thoughts knowing she was someone's daughter, or sister, or wife. Had she made a promise to visit him? She was troubled, she was broken, and she was hurting.

One by one the men walked into class, dejected, lonely, bored, hungry and tired. Now I began to look at them as Fathers, Husbands, Brothers and Sons. Compassion took over my soul, I felt it enter in and compassion began to speak; Hope.

Who needs notes when compassion speaks? Who needs notes when the ONE most compassionate speaks? One with bowed head prayed, repentant. Others asked questions, wanting change, wanting a new life, something different; Hope. One by one as the class ended; there was a smile on each of their faces. There were handshakes, embraces. There was Hope.

"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

Tonight I drove to the Elkhart County Jail in Indiana, tonight I walked to a classroom with men incarcerated for crimes they have been convicted of or accused. Tonight my eyes beheld men who were broken, contrite and remorseful. "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds:"

Tonight these men heard a voice that sounded like mine, they saw a man that looked like me, there was a lesson prepared and in front of me. "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."

Had she not been there at the perfect time, if it were not for her tears, I may have taught this night. But the Lord in His infinite compassion and wisdom, wanted to visit these men tonight and speak to them. "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name..."

The Lord did not ask me to help them to get out of jail. He did not ask me to fight for their rights. He did not instruct me to do anything in particular, except; to go.

The Lord knows how to get our attention. Sometimes it comes in strange places, and from unexpected events, or even unexpected sources.

Wherever the Lord leads you to go, He will speak, if you yield. If you don't go, He will speak through someone else. "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;"

If our hearts are prepared, if our eyes are attentive, if our ears are keen to hear, and our tongue is yielded we can be assured that if God wants to speak, He will speak. "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it".

There will be no doubt when God speaks through you. Yield to the chair, yield to the throne. Let him speak.


Daniel Criss
Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Scripture references (All KJV): Matthew 25:36, Luke 23:40-41, Psalms 86:15, Acts 9:15, Esther 4:14, Psalms 81:10