“Gene didn’t speak to my troubles as an outsider; he understood what I was going through. Gene was how God answered my prayer for help.” “I had never heard a man teach the Bible like Gene. He taught the Bible like he saw what was going on in the deepest part of my soul. The Lord taught me how to rest in his word through Gene’s teaching.”

He asked God to prove his innocence and forgive him in the same prayer. Up until his mid-40’s, Gene’s career was his only aim, but legal action brought him to his knees. He knew he was guilty, but not of the charges they were bringing against him. He came to Christ during a time of trouble, and he assumed that Christ would remove his restlessness, which never happened.

A few years later, the Lord delivered Gene from the false accusations, but Gene was left with insomnia from the years of legal battles. A disquieted feeling never seemed to leave him. Over those years, he had grown close to the Lord. He became deeply involved in a biblical church and spent time in prayer. A few years later, he even began teaching Sunday School. The problem was, he felt like a hypocrite.

When he looked around at all the people in his church, most had been Christians all their lives. They seemed to glow with joy and peace. He would go to small group and listen to the praises and prayer requests. Most of the requests were for things like safe travels for a trip or clarity for a decision. Then the following week, they would praise God for answering their prayers. Gene’s needs were much more burdensome and never seemed to be answered that quickly, if at all.

He prayed regularly for that peaceful feeling, but it never seemed to come. Something interesting began to happen, though. People began responding to his Sunday School lessons. Every week, as he would prepare to teach, every verse he studied was like a balm to his troubled soul. The process also left him exhausted.

He began to teach the word as if the very life of his listeners depended on it. This sincerity happened naturally because he taught the word for his own survival. At the same time, he felt that every lesson left him exposed, leading him to take long, uncomfortable pauses before every public prayer. Teaching felt like both a blessing and a risk. He didn’t know how long he could keep doing it.

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