When remembering my years of incarceration, I often think about those small lockboxes and how much property we were expected to store in them.
Like many others, I would acquire more property then would fit into it so I would pack the excess up and send it home. Surely someone can relate? Mostly letters but there were also bible studies, prayer journals, and certificates of my achievements within the fences. I had been home approximately 2 years when I decided it was time to filter through the boxes, determine what needed to be kept and what could be discarded.
Opening each box was like walking down memory lane. What I assumed would only take a few moments turned into hours. Reading over my journals, remembering where I was spiritually, and seeing how far God had brought me was uplifting.
I came across a petition I had written to God while on the Hobby Unit. It was concerning my future and the things I was hoping and believing for my children and myself. It was my first attempt to stand on the Word of God and to speak things that are not as though they are. In my petition, I clearly addressed different areas that I needed His divine intervention and searched for His promise:
KNOWING WHO I WAS:
• I am the apple of his eye – Deuteronomy 32:10
• I am a child of God – John 1:12
• I was bought with a price I belong to God – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
OVERCOMING FEAR:
• If God before me who can be against – Romans 8:31
• I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind – 2 Timothy 1:7
• I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me – 1 John 5:18
BELIEVING FOR THE FUTURE:
• My children and I are reconciled and living in one accord – 2 Corinthians 5:17
• I am a minister of the word I have numerous ministering engagements – John 15:16
• I am commissioned by God to go and make disciples – Matthew 28:19
Through my years of incarceration, I grew in the understanding that I was called to see things spiritually before it would come to pass in the natural (walk by faith and not by sight). Today is no different for me, nor for any child of God. We all long for the future or the next chapter in our lives. For some it’s making parole, others are praying for that perfect job, idea, school, or perhaps for a mate. It’s like looking through a spiritual telescope, viewing things (our futures) in the distance. Meanwhile, we are to grow (in His word), and improve so when our future comes to pass we’ll be able to stand. Remember, God declares He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11). So let’s keep believing for the future, walking by faith and not by sight. Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him.
Blessings,
Rev. Susan Neyra
President of Disciples 4 Christ
