Encouragement
Psalm 40: 1-2 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry, He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
Anthony, a native of Milwaukee was born to a 15 year old mother who liked to party and drink and would disappear for days at a time. He was resentfully raised by his alcoholic grandmother, a factory worker. When Anthony turned 14 his mother had graduated to heroin and crack cocaine. Two months later in his freshman year of high school Anthony’s mother died of a heroin overdose. Grandma faced with the loss of her only child and having to raise Anthony alone began to drink vodka along with her daily ration of beer. Anthony trying to cope began smoking weed and drinking himself. Grandma soon found herself in and out of the hospital six months later with liver and organ damage. A year and a month after he lost his mother his grandma passed away from liver and organ failure. Anthony was sent to live with his grandmas’ brother Evan and his wife Miriam in Indianapolis. Anthony had never met them because of a falling out between his grandma and Evan years before he was born. His new Uncle Evan and Aunt Miriam were devout Christians who were never able to have children of their own. They loved Anthony and began taking him to church. Anthony didn’t quite know what to make of it, never really having been loved unconditionally up until now. Church was just as uncomfortable as everyone showed him love there also, so Anthony found comfort in some new friends at school who liked to smoke weed and drink. Something he was more accustomed to.
The summer after his sophomore year he ran away to Chicago to be with a friend who had moved there from Milwaukee. His friend’s older brother showed him how to deal crack and survive only Anthony liked using the crack himself and was soon homeless and strung out in a strange city at 16. Anthony learned to hustle and steal, sleep where he could and occasionally drop into a church run shelter for a hot meal and a warm place to sleep. One of the workers there told him how God could bring him out of the horrible pit and miry clay his life had become. Meanwhile, Uncle Evan had been to Milwaukee several times asking friends and teachers about Anthony only to find no trace of him. He began to understand what Anthony had been through and prayed constantly for his safe return.
A year after Anthony had gone missing Evan went to Chicago on business and took Miriam with him. When Evan was finished they started to head back when Miriam suggested they call Randy an old friend of Evan’s from high school to see if they could meet for dinner. It had been a couple of years since they had seen Randy and his wife and they were promptly invited to their home that afternoon. Evan soon began to tell Randy about Anthony and all they had done to find him. Randy a deacon at his church told Evan about a young man named Anthony who had come to the shelter he helped to run. Evan and Miriam with absolutely no hope got a picture out of her purse of Anthony at a church picnic and showed it to Randy. Randy yelled out “That’s him, he looks a lot worse now but that’s him.” They all jumped into Randy’s car and headed for the shelter praying all the way that this would be one of those rare nights Anthony would show up.
Anthony had become desperate and thoughts of suicide constantly crept into his mind. He remembered the man at the shelter promising him God could bring him out of the pit and something about clay. He screamed at God in anger and then cried out in desperation “If you’re really real help me now God.” Anthony made his way to the shelter with tears in his eyes and barely able to see the whole way there. When he walked into the shelter there stood Uncle Evan and Aunt Miriam. Anthony was sure he was hallucinating but Evan and Miriam hugged him and held him praising God the whole time. He slowly realized they were real and began to sob uncontrollably. Deacon Randy, as he is known at the shelter, reminded Anthony that God can truly bring him out of his horrible pit and miry clay and everyone could see the impact those words had on Anthony. He returned home the next day and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and began calling Miriam and Evan Mom and Dad. After all the stories were told Anthony realized the miracle that God had worked in his life.
A couple of months later Anthony and his new mom and dad where at church Sunday morning waiting for the service to start. Anthony was feeling guilty because two nights before on Friday he had slipped and smoked some weed and drank some beer. He was also craving crack knowing the horrible pit he had just come out of. When the preacher started his sermon on Psalm 40 he began to cry and ran out of the church with his mom and dad right behind him. He confessed what he had done and his mom and dad hugged him and loved him all the more. After the service they talked with the preacher and Anthony and his parents told him the whole story of Anthony’s life up until that moment. The preacher opened up his bible to Psalm 40 and said “Anthony God worked a miracle that night at the shelter, but not just to get you out of the miry clay, but to set your feet upon the rock and establish your steps.” The preacher chuckled and continued “You should have stayed for verses 7 and 8: "Then I said Behold I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will O my God. And your law is within my heart." Anthony your name is written in the book of life now and Gods law is in your heart. Your heart delights to do His will and that’s why you feel so guilty and afraid to slip back into the world. God wants to set your feet upon the rock, the rock that is Jesus Christ and He will establish your steps so you don’t slip again.” After hearing that, Anthony began to really understand how God works and began reading the bible constantly and asking questions like a curious child. Today Anthony is 25 years old and happily married with a 2 year old son. His little boy has the most loving and doting grandparents who can’t stop spoiling him to Anthony’s great delight.
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