Bricks with no straw
I arrived for our weekly Intervarsity gathering surprised to see chairs set up and Jack waiting eagerly. "I set up all the chairs and I was really hoping there would be more people than last week! Last week was so great!" Jack said as he excitedly put together our Intervarsity banner. I affirmed his work and his enthusiasm... then we sat down... and waited... ten minutes went by. Fifteen. I checked my phone to see if any other students texted. Both Jack and I looked up in anticipation every time the door opened, only to sink back in our seats as one student after another walked through to some other meeting. I became very aware of the large size of the circle of chairs.
"Well," I turned to Jack. "Let's go ahead and talk about Exodus." (Jack and I have been reading Exodus during our weekly discipleship meetings). But even that felt risky. When I was preparing for our discipleship time, I wondered how I would help Jack apply Exodus 5 to his life. It just felt like the sort of passage that was very pragmatic and factual--Moses asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh's response was to force the Israelites to make bricks without providing straw. "Get it together, Jen!" I thought. "There has to be an application in here somewhere!" But I put the passage away, thinking I would have time for more preparation before our meeting.
Now, here it was, Wednesday night and I didn't want to waste my time with Jack, so I pulled out the Exodus 5 passage and asked if he wanted to go ahead and have our weekly discipleship meeting.
We settled back in and Jack eagerly dove into the passage. I prayed that God would make something good out of this.
"I hate to admit it, but I would not respond like Moses," Jack said. "My response would not be to turn back to God. I would argue with Pharaoh because my pride would make me want to be right." I was surprised by his honesty and by how attentive Jack was to the passage.
"When we run into hardship in life we have two real options," I shared. "We can run away from God and rely on ourselves or we can press into God and grow. The Moses at the beginning of Exodus ran from hardship. This Moses is growing and is now pressing into God."
"How does this passage apply to your life?" I hesitantly asked Jack.
"Well I think it really applies to us right now. We expected things to go differently tonight but instead it's just the two of us. Moses expected things to go differently in Egypt but instead he watched the Israelites suffer even more because of his actions."
I was a little worried about where Jack was going with this, but he went on. "So, we can respond like Moses and pray and ask God for creativity and insight to build this chapter!"
As Jack and I continued to chat, it became clear that God was using this time with Jack to grow and develop this new Believer... and me! When I saw nothing but bricks without straw, Jack saw a call to discipleship--an invitation further up and further in to the Kingdom. I am so thankful that I get to learn from students like Jack and I'm grateful for a God who uses everything for His Kingdom... even circles of 12 empty chairs.
We ended by asking God to give us courage and wisdom to build His chapter at Radford.
"Well," I turned to Jack. "Let's go ahead and talk about Exodus." (Jack and I have been reading Exodus during our weekly discipleship meetings). But even that felt risky. When I was preparing for our discipleship time, I wondered how I would help Jack apply Exodus 5 to his life. It just felt like the sort of passage that was very pragmatic and factual--Moses asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh's response was to force the Israelites to make bricks without providing straw. "Get it together, Jen!" I thought. "There has to be an application in here somewhere!" But I put the passage away, thinking I would have time for more preparation before our meeting.
Now, here it was, Wednesday night and I didn't want to waste my time with Jack, so I pulled out the Exodus 5 passage and asked if he wanted to go ahead and have our weekly discipleship meeting.
We settled back in and Jack eagerly dove into the passage. I prayed that God would make something good out of this.
"I hate to admit it, but I would not respond like Moses," Jack said. "My response would not be to turn back to God. I would argue with Pharaoh because my pride would make me want to be right." I was surprised by his honesty and by how attentive Jack was to the passage.
"When we run into hardship in life we have two real options," I shared. "We can run away from God and rely on ourselves or we can press into God and grow. The Moses at the beginning of Exodus ran from hardship. This Moses is growing and is now pressing into God."
"How does this passage apply to your life?" I hesitantly asked Jack.
"Well I think it really applies to us right now. We expected things to go differently tonight but instead it's just the two of us. Moses expected things to go differently in Egypt but instead he watched the Israelites suffer even more because of his actions."
I was a little worried about where Jack was going with this, but he went on. "So, we can respond like Moses and pray and ask God for creativity and insight to build this chapter!"
As Jack and I continued to chat, it became clear that God was using this time with Jack to grow and develop this new Believer... and me! When I saw nothing but bricks without straw, Jack saw a call to discipleship--an invitation further up and further in to the Kingdom. I am so thankful that I get to learn from students like Jack and I'm grateful for a God who uses everything for His Kingdom... even circles of 12 empty chairs.
We ended by asking God to give us courage and wisdom to build His chapter at Radford.
Jen,
ReplyDeleteGod is using your perseverance to reach Radford. Don't give up or get too discouraged. When I planted (attempted is the better word) at Florida A&M University, an HBCU, years ago, I would stand in the quad manning a table for several hours each week. I maybe had three or four conversations in the 4-6 weeks I did it. But one student wanted to know God better and we started meeting regularly. Over time, I got him involved in the Florida State chapter.
To quote Winston Churchill, "Nevah, nevah, nevah give up!"
Thank you for your encouragement, Paul! I'm thankful for your prayers and for the example of faithfulness in ministry. I do believe God is moving and His timing is perfect.
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