Chapter 2

Scripture for this chapter

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 KJV

Read 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 in the UECF.NET NKJV Bible ↗

At a glance

UECF.NET summary

In the aftermath of the courtroom episode, Wilkerson becomes, briefly, a target of ridicule — newspapers and even fellow ministers treat his interruption of the Farmer trial as naive grandstanding. He returns to Pennsylvania stung and uncertain, and the book uses this low point to introduce the tension that will run through the whole story: the gap between a conviction from God and the total absence, at first, of any practical way to act on it.

Rather than abandon the idea, Wilkerson begins praying specifically for a way back into the city and for wisdom about how an outsider — a rural pastor with no experience of gangs, addiction, or urban poverty — could possibly be useful there. The chapter frames this waiting and praying as necessary groundwork, not wasted time, and ends with him resolving to return to New York on his own terms rather than through a courtroom door.

Key points

• Public embarrassment does not settle the question of whether a conviction was genuine.
• Wilkerson treats the ridicule as a test of resolve rather than proof he was wrong.
• The chapter models unhurried, specific prayer before a next step rather than either quitting or charging back in immediately.

Related Scripture

• 1 Peter 4:14
• Nehemiah 4:1-3
• Psalm 27:14

For reflection and discussion

1. How do you usually tell the difference between a setback that means “stop” and a setback that means “not yet, but keep going”?
2. Who are the people whose opinion of your obedience matters most to you — and should it?
3. What would it look like to spend a season in prayer and preparation before acting on a conviction, rather than either abandoning it or forcing it?