Two Truths: 1) Plans Do Get Changed. 2) There Is A Reason.

Tonight the Sr. Adult Choir of LBC was suppose to go into Broad River Correctional facility and minister through music and serve a dinner for 250 inmates.  Our anticipation has been mounting as we made all the necessary preparations to get into the prison with food, music, and the gospel.  When we got there and processed all of the food through security we were informed that there was a lock-down in the dorm we were to serve due to some kind of possible threat of a disturbance or some breech by an inmate or inmates.  The dinner and program was cancelled.  We were very disappointed and perplexed and wondered how this could be!  What were we going to do with all of this food!

We ended up going back to the church with the volunteers and ate some of the food and then had a choir rehearsal, worshipped and prayed for the prisoners.  We were thrilled that we were able to donate all of the food to 2 places:  Samaritan's Well women's shelter and the Chris Meyers Children's Place in Lexington.

I was reminded that the apostle Paul experienced a lot of plan changes in his ministry.  One such time can be found in Romans 1:10-12 where Paul wrote the Believers in Rome:   "I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.  I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith."
But Paul was prohibited from going to Rome at that time.  Who knows?  Perhaps we, like Paul, were protected and spared something devastating that could have happened at the prison tonight. Or perhaps Satan just won this round and kept us from ministering the gospel.  But plans change and what Satan meant for evil, God used for good to bless Samaritan's Well and Chris Meyers Children's Place.  All things work together for good to those that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).