“Expect the unexpected” – Liliana Massacane
Long ago, as I was going through a time of deep disappointment and distress, the Lord guided someone to increase my faith in Him, believing that He is a God of the impossible. That person said, “It is not about living outside the reality we face. But there is another reality – that of Jesus Christ. If you trust in Jesus and talk with Him, you will see Him at work! And your life – and the lives of many others – will no longer be the same.”
So, we began to pray, and I understood more deeply that prayer is the open door to communication between earth and heaven – a space where I can freely express my fragility and affirm my dependence on Him. We are bathed by His grace, amazed at His radiant beauty, and lifted by His love to follow his steps. That is what I call “living out the power of the Risen One.”
In 2014, I heard about Prison Fellowship England and Wales. Our ministry reflects that calling, where the love of Jesus Christ is shown in a constant and practical way to those in prisons, to their families, and their communities.
It has been a little over a year since the pandemic took hold. The realities we lived before have changed, but God remains the same!
Mark 16 tells us about three women, grieving and in despair. They brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus in the tomb. On their way, they thought of ‘the immense and heavy stone’ that blocked the entrance to the tomb, and they wondered who could remove it. They knew they could not do it on their own.
However, when they arrived, the obstacle had already been removed, and the presence of the invisible became visible. The glory of God transformed hopelessness and death into peace and life. A young man dressed in white told the women not to be alarmed, that the One they were looking for was no longer there. That man said, “He has risen!” At once, he showed them the empty place where Jesus had been and told them to go and tell the disciples that He was already advancing towards Galilee. There they would see Him, just as He had told them before.
Amid sorrow and turmoil, God reminds us by His word and presence that nothing is too difficult for Him – He is the God of the impossible. His Word gives us peace (“Do not be afraid!”); His knowledge gives us rest (“He is no longer in the tomb!”); His resurrection gives us eternal life (“He has risen!”); His Presence gives us direction (“Go and tell others!”). When we fix our eyes on Him, we can expect the unexpected.
Liliana Massacane is PF’s Finance and Office Manager.
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