It’s Only a Season

Trish and I have been talking a lot lately about seasons of life. As parents of two teenagers and one that drives, we have entered a new season of life. New seasons of life can be exciting. But not all seasons of life feel good. They can be painful, lonely, heart-wrenching or dry.

As I think about people in Scripture, their lives seemed to have seasons. Jacob went through a season of being deceitful, then a season of running. Joseph went through a season of being the favorite, then a season of being resented, then a season of being forgotten in an Egyptian prison, then a season of great success. 

The God of a Second Chance

John Grant

“Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.” Psalm 30:2
Recently I heard the story of a rebellious young man who got caught up in drugs, alcohol and a lot more. He left home and struck out on his own looking for something, but he didn’t know what. Things went from bad to worse and he was running with the wrong people. They all ended up in jail in a foreign country. He scraped up all the money he had and hired a lawyer, but the lawyer absconded with the money and failed to show in court and the young man was sentenced to five years in prison.

While in prison he met a murderer and a drug smuggler who were also serving time for their crimes, but had given their life to Jesus after reading Bibles given to them. The young man began meeting with them but the Bibles were in Spanish and he could not read the Word. Eventually someone got him an English Bible and through reading it, he too gave his life to Christ.

After five months in prison, his father and another man came to see if they could get him freed, but their efforts were not met with success. It was too late to appeal or re-open the case. The night before they were to leave they were in a local restaurant and began weeping over their failure. The manager observed their behavior and asked what was wrong. When they told him, he introduced them to a judge who just happened to be dining across the room. Through that introduction, the young man was freed.

Call it Grace

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Original Air Date: August 22, 2012
With: Lysa TerKeurst
Trusting God
Radio Hostess: Lysa Terkeurst

What do you call it when a woman finds freedom in prison? Hi, I’m LysaTerKeurst for Proverbs 31 Ministries.

I sat in a hushed courtroom, tears rolling down my cheeks, as my dear friend learned she’d be going to prison.Tina had been caught up in a real estate scheme she never fully understood and would pay a steep price. This precious mother of two was now prisoner number 4579942.

But, beauty came from brokenness.

SINGING TO THE LORD

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple…Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Psalm 27:4, 6

Brother Zhang, a young medical doctor and preacher in Zhejiang, China, refused to join the government Three Self Patriotic Church. He was arrested and spent eighteen years in prison eating poor food, being beaten and drowning in the stench of cellmates. He shares this testimony:

“The eighteen years were a tremendous spiritual challenge, which brought great blessings I never before thought possible in my life. Prison officials ordered me to empty the camp night-soil pit, the prison’s cesspool. While I had little experience of physical labor, its hardship and suffering did not frighten me. Although most of the other prisoners dreaded night-soil pit duty as the most difficult task in prison, I accepted this assignment without complaint.