At a late-night Bible study on a college campus, a student asked me an auspicious, yet overwhelming question
“Can we talk?”
I hesitated, thinking how desperately I wanted a shower and my pillow after a long, arduous day.
I agreed, and we walked to the commons.
While he purchased food, I waited at a table. I checked the clock. 11:15 p.m.
Finally he returned and said, “Hey, do you remember those guys on my floor I was telling you about yesterday? Well, I just ran into them and they want to talk to you about God.”
Thinking he meant they would join us at the table, I agreed to talk.
“They’re meeting us at the dorm,” he said.
I glanced at my watch. 11:30 p.m.
God, I am exhausted! I prayed. I just want to go home!
A passage I’d memorized—Colossians 1:28, 29—interrupted my thoughts: “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me” (New International Version).
God, I have no energy for this, I prayed. But I’ll show up as long as You do the rest.
Walking back to the dorm, my fatigue seemed to disappear, and I mentally prepared to talk to probably two or three college freshmen.
I was shocked to find 16 waiting in the lounge.
Bracing myself for a barrage of antagonistic questions, the first inquiry was posed with a surprisingly honest and sincere tone.
“What’s the big deal about Jesus?” a student asked. The questions continued—all of them genuine, all seeking truth.
Others from the floor joined us, and a total of 24 guys inquired about Jesus, Christianity and the Bible until 3 a.m.
That night turned into a weekly event for two semesters, and I was adopted as floor mentor for the year.
Looking back, I realize that if I had trusted in myself, I would have succumbed to my exhaustion, gone home and missed a life-changing opportunity.
Instead, I handed over to God an overwhelming situation, and He in turn used it to transform the lives of 24 students. And one Bible-study leader.
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