Craig Clouston

 

Sent To Prepare The Way

December 17

I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.

Malachi 3:1

My friendship with Terry was born out of questionable circumstances…

“God, I know I deserve to be here,” my prayer began that Friday afternoon in 2003…followed by my selfish plea, “but please don’t send that punk to LMCCC.”

I’d been sentenced on multiple drug-related charges, and was awaiting transfer to the facility where I would begin serving my sentence. That punk was Terry, whom I’d developed a strong dislike for in a short period of time. I didn’t want to serve my time locked up with a guy who was always looking for trouble. But…God always knows and does what’s best for me, and He knew that Terry wasn’t as hard on the inside as he appeared on the outside. So He sent him on ahead of me. To put it mildly…I wasn’t too excited about it.

Then, one December night, the weekend of my daughter’s twenty-first birthday, we went into lock-down. ‘Lock-down’ meant no visitation; I wasn’t going to get to see my little girl on her big day. I was angry and on the verge of doing something stupid. That was the night God sent Terry. He wasn’t looking for anything in return…he just knew I needed a friend. And regardless of having stayed out of each other’s way before, Terry approached me that night, and asked if I wanted to talk. He helped me avoid making a very serious mistake, and he’s been my friend ever since.

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Today’s text prophesies the coming of John the Baptist, and in Matthew 11:9-11, we read about the fulfillment of this prophecy. When God is about to do something important, He sends someone ahead of His arrival.

God sent Terry to prepare me to make the right choices, because He knew that for me to do otherwise would derail, or at the very least, delay the mission He’d set before me. The fact that you are reading this is in great part due to Terry’s kindness and compassion on that fateful night.

God continues to prepare the way for us. He sends exactly who we need, exactly when we need them.

Prayer

“Father God, thank You for sending people like Terry to prepare the way for us. May You find me willing to be sent when needed. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”