…This next story belongs to my hubby and he gave me permission to share it….

Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com

It had been a very rough year…2009… Phil’s son was still struggling with a drug addiction that had started after his mom died of cancer… It had finally landed him into a place where we could not rescue him…he was sentenced to six months in prison. He was being held in the county jail, waiting for a transfer. We had been reading the Bible together every morning that week, and Phil had come across that passage that starts in Matthew 6:25 — the Cure for Anxiety passage — that urges us to TRUST GOD, which had seemed to encourage him greatly. He had heard in his heart a Word from the Lord that “I’ve got this son in my hands.” And he was trying so hard to trust God for him. But then the transfer came and the son was suddenly moved on a Saturday morning without warning. The penal system is sometimes cruel to the families left to deal with the aftermath of crimes. We were told they could not give us any information about where he had been placed. We would have to wait to hear from him. And it was Father’s Day week-end…sigh. Phil was devastated, worried sick about his son. Imagine all the scenarios running through your mind when the son you love is in an unknown place where you cannot protect him and you’ve heard such terrifying stories of things that could happen….

We made our way to church that Sunday morning with heavy hearts. We were a few minutes late, and the Worship Team had already started. People were standing, singing worship to the Lord. I left Phil at the back while I made a quick trip to the ladies’ room, and when I returned, we made our way to a seat. He quickly sat down and put his head in his hands and wept so hard his shoulders were shaking. My heart broke for him and I wrapped my arms around him, praying for his heart. When he could finally talk, he said to me, “you aren’t going to believe what God said to me standing back there….He said so clearly, ‘I told you not to worry about Brian, I told you I am watching over him….and I have given you a scripture…don’t worry!'” The look of awe and relief on his face was priceless! And we knew the scripture that He was referring to…the Matthew 6 verses about how God cares for us, and how much we are worth to Him!

…or so we thought….

Worship team completed their songs, and the pastor introduced the guest speaker. I have no recollection of his name or anything that he taught that night. It was how he started his message that blew us away. He said something like, “before I start my sermon today, I just felt so strongly to share this scripture, if someone will put it up on the overhead for me?” Then suddenly Phil’s name was there at the top of the screen. The Bible book was Philippians, but it had been shortened to PHIL. And the verse that followed melted my dear husband’s heart and knees. We read, along with a great big whispered TaDa:

PHIL 4:4-7 (NIV) ⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
⁵  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

…the Peace of God that transcends understanding… Selah.

We got word the next week from Brian that he had been moved to a prison just about an hour’s drive from us. And God had gone before this son and prepared the way. When they processed him in and found out he had a plumber’s license, they assigned him to the small elite trustee’s ward, and he was assigned a plumber’s job for the prison. He was in the safest place in the prison — if any of the men in that unit broke rules or picked a fight, they were booted back into general population. His roommate was a recovering alcoholic who was also — oh by the way — a Believer, and who would lead Brian into a salvation experience while he was there….

“if I make my bed in hell, He is there…” Ps 139:8

And that passage became a life verse for Phil Wilson….sent straight from the God Who knows the pain of a father’s heart for his son….we re-visit those verses often….