One check point down, two to go. Getting into a prison honestly is a lot more difficult than one realizes. We were going in as a team to bring the Gospel to the women in a Guadalajara prison. I was the one to speak. I had my message prepared and I asked the Lord as we were leaving for the prison, "What is the wisdom of the land?" I waited for His answer and it came in a flood. "Restore Dignity."
As I prayed over His download of wisdom, I looked at the children in the van with us. Along with our team, we had children from a home we worked in Mexico. They were going with us to see their mothers. Some were somber, and some were excited, and some were holding back their emotions. All were quiet. After each gate and check point and approval of heavily armed guards we make it to the main entrance, only to be screened and padded down. We walk through two more gates and we are in. The children run to their mothers. The teen mission group mingles with the women prisoners and the women prisoners smile and try hard to understand our conversation.
For prisoners, they worshipped freely. Some danced, some jumped, but all worshipped. These women were free behind bars. As I watched them worship recklessly my heart went to places of dignified women who worshipped half heartedly and quite contained. For free women are worship can be weak. These precious prisoners held nothing back. It was obvious, they loved their Savior. And it was even more obvious, their Savior loved them.
Restore Dignity. I preached on Hagar and Sari. I shared how when we are mistreated by people we trust; we are being positioned for a promise. God sees us and know us and reminds us there is no boundary to His great love. His love does not see status, money, homes, bars, slave or free.
We danced with the women and their children in the prison and felt the freedom of God behind bars!
Now home and back to the grind, it is hard to forget the liberty that the women behind metal curtains displayed so beautifully. As I walked into church and saw women behind their own bars and caged by their thoughts, past or hurts I couldn't help but think of the broken women that danced in the prison. The truth of the wisdom of the land still rings true. God aches to restore dignity to His women, regardless of which prison they live in.
Restoring dignity to those who have forgotten their promise. Restoring dignity to those who have felt abandon and unworthy of rescue. Restoring dignity to those who have held their hurt deep inside for fear of judgment. Restoring dignity to those who hide the true condition of their heart. Restoring their joy, their value, their dance. To the prisoners both free and behind bars.
Psalm 30:11-12 The Message
You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.
I'm about to burst with song;
I can't keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can't thank you enough.
When the Lord comes in and restores dignity, an undignified dance comes upon a person. When hope, joy and peace are given back to a temple that has lost it, a spinning twirling jig comes forth. A yehaw so to say. Think of David when the Ark of the covenant was returned. The glory of God comes rolling in and David came spinning out. An undignified dance welled up out of David! When the Glory of God restores a person’s dignity, a pee your pants dance should be the first thing we do. And Believe me, we were in an all women’s prison and it happened, and nobody cared. Because restored dignity has nothing to do with self image it has to do with coming into line with His image! So dance like nobody is watching you today.
