Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at the Men of Nehemiah, a faith-based recovery program working to restore men to Jesus Christ, enabling them to experience the love of God and therefore praising Him for who He is as they become the person the Lord intended them to be. The men gathered there last Tuesday night are a multicultural dichotomy representing all walks of life. Addiction does not discriminate.

These men have not traveled an easy road, but rather one filled with trouble almost from the moment they were born. Faith in God is what keeps them pressing forward, enduring hardships and facing difficult times head-on. They sing songs to the Lord. They testify to His goodness and the Lord’s grace working in their lives. They listen, attentively, feeding on the Word of God.

They pray fervently and with a passion for Jesus. Theirs are not rote prayers or observances of routine mantras, but rather cries and pleas to God, like I imagine David shouted out to the Lord when he experienced the trials recorded in Psalms or on the night that David lost his son.

These men know what is to hurt and to experience pain. In many cases, they themselves have inflicted pain and hurt on others, especially those that once loved them and held out hope for them during their darkest times. These are men who learned the hard way that decisions come with consequences. They also know what it is to live in the freedom that a life devoted to Christ brings.

They laugh. They weep. They praise and they pray. They share with one another, although they have little of material value to offer. No, theirs is a sharing of the spiritual kind, intended to encourage, enlighten, and empower the brother sitting next to them.

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

We talked about the goodness of God and how the Lord is good all the time no matter what. I shared John 1:1-5 with them, much like I had recently shared with the men at Union Gospel Mission Dallas. Yes, the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Comforting truth to hold onto when you are are struggling to look up simply to see bottom.

My time there was wonderful and I am amazed by the work God is doing at Men of Nehemiah. These men have come to a place in their life where the rubber meets the road and it is humbling to see God working in their lives.

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™

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