Los Pinos Updates, Part 2

The much more difficult update is on Herman. People who have kept up with my time with him know that it is always up and down. He will “see the light,” start to turn his life around, start searching for God, allow me in his life to help, etc., and then usually a few months later the enemy drags him back down again, usually lower than where he started.

The past few months I’ve seen this happen again. I hadn’t talked to him in months until a few weeks ago when we spoke briefly. He is back deep into drugs, into a lifestyle and reputation that, a few short months ago, had him on the run, wanted for murder.  His posts on facebook and his strong words spoken to me personally say that he is content with his life and he wants nothing to do with me or anyone involved in Zion’s Gate, but his actions speak differently. The fact that he called me at all after not speaking to me for months, and that every picture he publishes of himself on facebook is with people who have had one sole purpose in his life: to pour into him spiritually, tells a bit of a different story. His actions say that he is missing something from these past few years, and I just can’t imagine why, if he really didn’t want me to be a part of his life anymore, he would contact me after three months of neither me contacting him or him contacting me. He wants something different, but either he doesn’t know what it is or he is too prideful to admit it (I’d guess the latter).

In my last message to him, I made it very clear my stance with him. I am not in his life to be merely a friend, to support him in the terrible decisions he is making, or pity him as he chooses again and again to put himself in a pitiful situation.  He thoroughly enjoys and readily receives words of pity and sympathy, but words of challenge that speak the truth that is so contrary to what he is living, not so much. I am in his life for the day that he decides he wants something DIFFERENT than what he has, simply put. I offer him help to find a different life, to help him fight for something that is worth a fight, and I will be available at any hour of the day, any day of the week when he is finally ready for it. Until then, I wait and pray*.

*Don’t take these words wrong, they are not words of frustration with him, although it can be a frustrating situation. I love him like my brother, and there is nothing I want more than for him to experience true joy, peace, and a real future. These words are what God has shown me I need to do, to confront him with truth and not settle for talking in circles with facades and pretending like everything is ok when it is clearly not ok. There is time to speak gently, but also to speak directly and truthfully, because he is 20 years old, and if nothing drastic changes soon, I don’t want to know what 25 looks like.

I was listening to a sermon from a Passion conference years ago, and through Louie Giglio’s words in the first 40 seconds, God spoke peace over this situation. The words being studied are from Ezekiel 37 in the valley of the dry bones.  The question is asked, “Lord, can these bones live?” The answer, “O Lord God, only you know.” These dry, dry bones, dead and hopeless, can they live? Well of course only God knows, because the world’s best guess would be no. Giving good advice or caring for physical needs is something we as humans can do, but only God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is in the business of raising from the dead. Nor is it our place to speculate if He will, when, or how. He did it for every single one of us when he raised us out of the death of our sin and put us back together and breathed His breath into us. And raising from the dead is exactly what every single one of us needed, and what Herman needs right now, nothing less will rescue him.

(Herman's 19th birthday last May)

So Lord, these dry bones of your dear son Herman I leave in your hands, “O Lord God, only you know.” And because I know my God and I’ve seen his power, I wait in faith for the day that I get to see the rest of Ezekiel 37 played out and God glorified through it.

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full on bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

-Ezekiel 37 ESV