“Jill” (not her real name) had just finished her undergrad degree in engineering and was working on her MBA. She had recently gotten out of a toxic relationship and was confused and lonely.
She was struggling with her concept of God and who He is.
She called me and we talked on the phone a couple of times and then met in person. We had a great conversation and one of the things she said was “God does not hear or answer my prayers!”
Jesus Takes Us as We Are
That led me to ask her about her salvation experience. She did not grow up attending church. And she could not tell me about a time when she had invited Jesus to be her Savior. Granted, for some who have known Jesus since they were a child, sometimes they can’t remember a specific time, and for others it could happen gradually over the course of months or years. But I suspected that Jill had never begun a relationship with Christ.
We discussed how in order to have a relationship with Jesus, Jill needed to ask Him to come into her heart, forgive her sin, and give Him control. She didn’t feel like she was good enough yet to do that. That led to more discussion around the fact Jesus takes us just as we are.
Savior and Lord
Jill had many questions as to how she might know that God was speaking to her. After more conversation, I gave her some homework to think about what all this might look like for her and to see if she could identify a time she had asked Jesus to come into her heart. I also gave her some verses to look up and that is when I learned she did not have a Bible.
We planned to meet at the bookstore the next week to identify a Bible I could purchase for her. Before that could happen, we had lunch together.
She was able to tell me that she had now indeed asked Jesus to become her Savior and Lord! Praise Jesus!
Almost No Money for Her Own Needs
Meanwhile, while in a small group that I lead, I shared a bit of this story and a graduate student came to me and said that the Lord told her to purchase the Bible for Jill. It was a bit of a surprise because the young woman wanting to buy a Bible for Jill had almost no money for her own needs. Tears streamed down her face during our conversation.
These two young women met at church the following Sunday. They have both expressed that they want a friend, a Christian accountability partner. I think God is doing something in the lives of both these students. His hand is all over it. What a God we serve!
Opportunities to Minister
How many of our students are just like Jill? As long as everything is going well, they are ok. But, when big challenges come, how can they handle life with no hope, purpose, meaning, or fellowship? God has given us opportunities to minister to young people like Jill. And how beautiful that at the same time God was drawing Jill to Himself, He was also preparing a sister in Christ to be a mentor and friend.
