Sadly, it takes some of us awhile to realize who we are in Christ. Arturo is one such case. We could see the internal struggle taking place within him—his desire to grow pitted against the temptations he faced. He was often down on himself and always seemed to be escaping from something. Many times that something was a less than ideal homelife. That life was the reason he had fallen into the cracks of Mexico City in the first place. It was what pushed him into those dark places again a few weeks ago. I had shared verses with Arturo, like 2 Corinthians 5:17 which states: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (ESV)" He always seemed to feel better after hearing those verses. I trust that those verses will come to him again now in the walls of his cell…if we pray.
We are still hopeful for him because we know that "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ"(Philippians 1:6 ESV). God is by no means done with Arturo. It is no accident that he has been in Christian rehabilitation clinics and for years has listened to Christian music. We know God's faithfulness and wait for His answers in His timing. "For everything there is a season,and a time for every matter under heaven…" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Please pray for our friend, Arturo. Please pray that God speaks to him where he is, that God heals his heart from years of brokenness, and that he undoes all of the damage that this young man lives with daily.
