I Can Clearly Now The Rain Has Gone.....

"I can see clearly now the rain has gone". Thats's the partial line from an old song I heard earlier in life. To me today it means we have been in the storm and now we can see the sun peeking out. The clouds are still there but they are retreating. Heading for the horizon. For now, all is clear.

That's what happened this week. My friend that I blogged about earlier, the one who had been in the Mission with me, the one who had found God just to walk away from Him and then found Him again? That one. The dude that had a relationship with Christ but took his focus off Christ. This was the guy who came back like the "prodigal son". Broken and desperate for acceptance. Desiring fellowship with other believers and more importantly desperate to know, really know that God forgave him for turning way and would accept him back. Our job, my job was to reinforce this truth. God will and did forgive you for breaking away. He forgives you for making stupid, selfish choices. He rescues you from damnation with His grace and mercy when you cry out to Him. These things are all true.What I saw this week with my own eyes is when you hold up your end of a deal with God, He will hold up His end.

I told you earlier that this guy had gotten in trouble with the law during this last time he had walked away from God and started getting high. He made a stupid choice amongst a bunch of stupid choices and later, after he'd came back to God, so did the police, with a warrant. They'd busted him, charged him, and the potential penalty was further enhanced by new charges as a "habitual offender". This bumped the penalty from six years in prison to twelve years in prison if convicted. For the past couple of months this dude has been increasingly freaked out. He is working but too poor to hire a "real" attorney. He had only seen and spoke to his court appointed attorney once in the past months. Court trial was last Tuesday. I held my breath as I waited in the back pew of the courtroom because in the back of my mind I feared he had cut and run.

For the past couple of months we talked frequently. I would encourage him to keep a positive attitude. He has been faithful in going to Church and even been recruited to work with the teens at his Church. Because of his past he would be perfect at talking about the pitfalls awaiting these youngsters. I also know he was tempted to run. He told me once that if it looked like he was going to prison he was leaving for Mexico. I told him that was the whole point of this "test". You either fall running to Christ, right to your knees or fall running away from Him. Either way your gonna fall. Week before last we had lunch together and talked about the upcoming trial on Tuesday. I could see scared all over him. We spoke about the what ifs.... then we spoke of the real truth. This was no longer about him and the judicial system. This was about relationship with Jesus. He found himself in a situation that he could not figure a way out of. He knows that the Bible promises that if we trust God and believe in Him He will never forsake us. Sometimes we do go to jail for our criminal choices. In this, Christ goes with you to jail. He don't stop at the bars and razor wire and say "I'll be right here when you get out". Nope he goes in with us. He comforts us and gives us purpose even behind bars. He strenghtens us and comforts us in prison. We have a witness and testimony. This moment he is contemplating running is the moment that satan is rolling the dice on his back, betting against him. This moment of fear that he is experiencing is about the real life application of relationship with Christ. this moment of fear is designed by the enemy to separate us from relationship with Jesus. This moment is used by Christ to strengthen out relationship with Him and out need to depend fully on Him. That is the truth I left with my friend. The truth that all this is about his relationship with Christ.It's still about our choices. You're jammed up beyond your control, who you gonna depend on? Yourself or Jesus?

My friend came through the court room doors with his parents in tow. He came in with with Jesus. He met with his "attorney". He stood before the Judge and was given grace. If he doesn't commit a crime in one year all these charges go away. Grace. Another chance. Hope. Compassion. Forgiveness. These are the things that were expressed by our judicial system. I asked my friend and he said these are the things that are expressed by our God. These are the things that define our Saviour. My friend is a free man today. Not because the judicial system said so on Tuesday but because my Christ said so on Calvary over 2,000 years ago. Praise God.