Scott's Prayer (Page 3)

Three weeks later, I was offered a job at Calvary Chapel. I gratefully accepted. After serving for just a short time at Calvary Chapel, I was blessed with many opportunities to share about God’s faithfulness to me while in prison. Sometimes challenging situations have arisen. For instance, a few times the volunteers I have worked with have asked, "So, when did you first start coming to Calvary?" Knowing that such questions would be asked by those unaware of my recent past, I had determined to always be forthright. “Oh, I found Calvary back in 2001,” I would reply. To this they would usually say, “Really? Why have I not seen you before?” And I would honestly reply, “Because I just got out of prison a few weeks ago.” I must admit that I found some humor in their unsure reactions. I was also surprised once when a man said in return, “Yeah, me too!”

All in all, God’s people at Calvary Chapel have been very gracious. The Lord has made me feel like I’ve come home. My dad and I did get to share a meal together, but unfortunately he was rearrested. That special person I prayed for still has not been sent, but perhaps my dad is not yet ready to hear. However, I’ve also learned when I pray for God to send someone, sometimes He says, “Okay, you go.” So I’ve now been blessed to bring God’s truth to my dad as he sits again in a jail cell. I’ve also been able to visit two other men in jail, both of whom I knew while I was incarcerated. God has given me a heart for His prisoners. I am amazed how quickly the doors of opportunity are opening!

Recently, I was asked and approved by my overseers at Calvary to begin going into two local corrections facilities. It was an awesome blessing to be on the receiving end of Calvary’s outreach to the incarcerated and needy, but I have no words to justly describe the joy and sense of God’s pleasure I felt at being included among those called to reach the all too often forgotten ones. I can only say, “Praise the Lord!”

Just for Me

At Polk Correctional, where I spent my last days as a prisoner, Barnabas, the band I first saw at Angel Tree, came every month and brought an atmosphere of worship. It made me feel as if I were at home in Calvary Chapel. Now, as I ponder this, I remember something my pastor once said: “God has a way of making each of us feel as if we’re his favorite.” I know that Barnabas’s prison ministry was special for each inmate, but sometimes I couldn’t help but feel that God had sent the group just for me. This is also how I have felt about our church since the first day in the Family Room—that Calvary Chapel was there just for me.

Looking back, I see clearly that God did not forsake me as I had accused him of doing. No, he brought about an awesome victory through the grave of apparent defeat.