God Sets the Prisoner Free

A few weeks ago, I was out early preparing for an event at Olney Central College (OCC) where we were going to represent The O₂ Youth Center.

I was standing out front of the youth center talking with someone who had stopped by when I received a text letting me know that the OCC event had been pushed back an hour.

At the time, it just seemed like a change in plans.

As we continued talking outside The O₂, we noticed a younger guy walking down the side street. He had no shirt on, was wearing flamboyant shorts and sandals, and something about the situation caught our attention.

We decided to walk over and check on him.

We asked him what was going on.

He told us that he had just been unexpectedly released from jail only minutes earlier.

He was hungry.

The O₂ wasn't open to the public at the time, but I invited him inside and got him some snacks and a soda.

As we sat there, he began sharing some of his story with me.

And then I had the opportunity to share the gospel with him.

In that moment, he put his faith and trust in Jesus.

He had walked out that morning thinking freedom meant getting out from behind jail walls.

But Jesus had something far greater in mind.

He wasn't just offering freedom from a jail cell.

Jesus was offering freedom from sin, a new life, and a new King.

That one-hour delay suddenly didn't seem like a delay at all.

It is amazing what can happen when we simply step out in obedience and do what God has called each and every one of us to do.

We don't have to manufacture the results.

We step out in faith.
We obey.
We share Jesus.

The results belong to the Holy Spirit.

There are people all around us who need the hope of the gospel. Sometimes the opportunity comes when we least expect it, in a place we weren't planning to be, because something in our schedule didn't go according to plan.

Maybe the interruption isn't always an interruption.

Maybe it's an opportunity.

Who have you shared Jesus with this week?