August 3. Gene McGuire. Gene started down a wrong road when he was very young. Apart from God, he had no hope. But on this date in 2008, the Holy Spirit whispered to Gene, “Bow low.” This is what happened.
Depend on yourself, and limit your future. Depend on God, and miracles happen.
Gene blocked out the clang of cell doors, the roar of voices, the jingle of keys in locks. Prison noise no longer fazed him. Gene’s life sentence had begun when he was a sophomore in high school, so for most of his life, his home had been a prison cell. And it would likely be for the rest of his life. His appeals for a reduced sentence had been repeatedly rejected.
Thankfully, it was Sunday. Gene pulled on the approved white T-shirt. Then he grabbed his Bible and sat on the metal stool attached to the small metal desk. He turned to a particular passage. “He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking” (Isaiah 51: 14 ESV).
“Bow low,” said the Holy Spirit.
Gene knelt by the desk.
“No, lower.”
Gene leaned until his forehead touched the concrete.
“No, lower.”
To keep his white T-shirt clean for church, Gene supported his chest with his hands as he stretched out on the floor.
“Lift your hands.”
Gene obeyed. All of his weight—legs, torso, head—pressed into the cold, hard concrete.
“That’s how I want you to live,” said the Lord. “Totally dependent on me. If you depend on yourself, you can have only what you can get. If you depend on me, you can have what I can give.”
Later, as Gene entered the prison chapel, the Holy Spirit spoke again, “Sit up front. Don’t serve today.”
“But Lord, I’m supposed to pass out hymnals.” As an elder, Gene helped with Sunday services.
“No, sit.”
Gene sat for the whole service. As the worship band closed with an old hymn, Gene sang along. “I surrender all . . .”
“Go to the altar, kneel, and sing to me,” the Lord said.
Gene frowned. What would everyone think? But he went. When he knelt, God’s presence caused him to sob. Gene felt a hand on his back. Bowed before the Lord, he worshiped.
“Brother Gene,” the pastor said, “come and close in prayer.” When Gene stood, he was stunned. Behind him were about 150 guys on their knees. The Spirit whispered, “I am looking for one man to be obedient.”
Gene lived another two years of his life sentence. Then, despite strong recommendations and a powerful resume, his fifth request for commutation was denied. Gene cried. He told God he was grieved, hurt, and confused.
God said, “I will release you, Gene. It’s not going to be based on what you’ve done or who you know—I’m going to release you.”
Two months later Gene received a letter from an attorney. Due to a recent Supreme Court decision, Gene had the right to an appeal. At first, Gene ignored the letter. He had suffered so many disappointments. But the Holy Spirit nudged, and the process began.
On April 3, 2012, a black-robed judge called a crowded courtroom to session, and Gene fought for slow, calming breaths. Shackled, handcuffed to a chain around his waist, and wearing the bright-orange shirt of an inmate, Gene awaited re-sentencing.
Finally the judge said, “The defendant shall rise.” Gene had been in prison since he was 17–34 years, 9 months, and 15 days. The judged declared his sentence served. The courtroom exploded. Gene collapsed into his chair and sobbed.
Someone shouted, “Unshackle that man! Release him from those chains! He’s a free man.”
In Pennsylvania, 479 juveniles had been imprisoned, sentenced to life without parole, but Gene was the first who, without parole or probation, was freed. When Gene “bowed low,” God fast-tracked Gene’s liberation.
Who do you routinely depend on? Depend on yourself and limit your future. Depend on God and miracles happen.
Based on an interview with Gene McGuire, 2019.
McGuire, Gene, with Darin Michael Shaw. Unshackled: From Ruin to Redemption. Colleyville, TX: Gene McGuire Publishing, 2018.
Story read by: Chuck Stecker
Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter
Audio production: Joel Carpenter
Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/
Project Manager: Blake Mattocks
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