In class this morning, guys were all fired up over things that were happening in their lives and that included what happened to Phil. When he arrived here about a month ago, Phil was beaten down and tired. While he had no spiritual background and no real spiritual interest, he didn’t feel like he had any better options than this program. So he came.
After about a week, he told me that he had picked up a Bible from the shelf and it was the first time in his life he could remember doing so. A few days later he told me he finally got around to opening it and reading the daily Proverb (the chapter of Proverbs matching the day of the month). He shared that he had never been to church and that his mother once told him that the lights in the church would dim if he ever went inside the doors. I’m happy to report that our chapel lights have done just fine, so far!
A week later, Phil said, “ I am not on the team yet, but I am sitting in the stands now.” For him this represented a truly open heart and a willingness to listen. Today he said, “the next step for me was a desire to find a better seat in the stadium – but I kept looking at the skybox and knew I couldn’t afford that.” By this point, Phil was looking to experience God’s presence and power in his life.
Then he described this weekend as a willingness to just humble himself and sit down right where he was in that stadium. He said the Lord used circumstances and other people to speak to him and, finally, God came and found him right where he was. Phil knew he didn’t get any better, couldn’t get any better – so Jesus just came and met him there, right where he was.
The 12 Steps begin with the concept of connecting to God (Steps 1-3). It happened to Phil this weekend. Man, I love my job!
One soul at a time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Spiritual Life Director