... And Though It Looks Concerning God Surprises You

"How did you know what to say?" Renee asked. "I didn't..."

We had all expected a regular job interview over zoom. God surprised the two camp directors and I with what followed. It might be fair to say that tears in a job interview is a bad sign; it was the opposite. A regular line of questions cut deeper for the interviewee than we knew because the Holy Spirit was at work. It became clear that we needed to set the interview aside and address what was happening in the heart of the individual on the other end of the line.

My answer continued "...I just keep asking God what he wants me to say and trust that he will use the words I say to help. Look at Matthew 10:19 "When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour." (ESV)." To our joy, rather than finding a job the young person found new life! An additional blessing was that two people I had been discipling for some time saw (rather than heard) the Holy Spirit in action drawing someone to Christ Jesus, and the use of a spiritual gift. It was the perfect "show rather than tell" moment.

To me that highlight from the past year perfectly sums up how the year went in total. Unexpected and unwelcome things continued to happen, yet God brought something out of it was was also unexpected yet so welcome that I could not help but feel grateful for the hardships that led to the event. In all of my years working with Youth Unlimited (Youth for Christ) I cannot think of a time where so many young people matured so much in their walk in Christ as in the past year. I believe that it would not have happened outside of the circumstances of a pandemic and lockdowns. It reminds me of what I once told a young person who had asked me about a difficult time in my past. "God does not cause your suffering, but he will not waste it, even if we don't get to see the reason for it in our lifetime."