When God Shows Up: Real Stories of FaithSample

Sasha*

“...The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, 'Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'" Luke 5:21, NLT

Sasha was incarcerated on charges that were violent and true. In her childhood, she experienced instability and trauma that led her to addiction and a life of crime. While she was incarcerated, she was considered one of Oklahoma’s most notoriously difficult and aggressive prisoners.

Sasha called out to Jesus in the back of a police car before her second incarceration. From that point on, her life was radically changed. She wrote out verses and handed them out to everyone she saw. She attended chapel and classes inside prison walls. Her behavior and character were so different that she was unrecognizable to many people who had known her during her first incarceration.

Today, Sasha has returned to prison as a volunteer, teaching Stand in the Gap’s curriculum for women who are preparing to be released. By sharing her story, women in prison come to believe that a different type of life is truly possible.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law in this Gospel story were also witnesses to a radical healing and transformation. Yet their initial reaction was one of legalism and criticism instead of praise. The Pharisees were not essentially bad men. They had, after all, committed their lives to the ministry of God. However, they struggle throughout the Gospels to make allowances for the mercy of God. Their legalism becomes a blinder to the miraculous incarnation of God.

The Pharisees in this story could have missed this moment because they were consumed by their own feelings of offense. God’s forgiveness is never “fair” because in our sin, none of us will ever merit a relationship with God. But imagine that you experienced the radical forgiveness of God and then heard people grumbling about it!

Do not allow your framework for God to obscure the miraculous work he is doing today.

The end of the Gospel story says that “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.” Do you think “everyone” included the Pharisees and teachers of the law who had just been called out in their disbelief? In what areas do you have blinders to the miraculous?

*Name changed to protect privacy