But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31
One of my good friends went to a personal retreat and she told me that Isaiah 40:31 was the verse that came to her mind while she was praying for me. Truly, I have been encouraged by this verse a lot, and have seen God’s vision through different things I am facing this month.
Pastor Rich started our first Friday Bible study night right after we came back to the Vision Conference. He invited all people to his house, and amazingly, more than 20 students came. He picked Alive Again as one of the worship songs, which was the theme song during Vision Conference. I can see that some people were touched by that again. After the bible study, one of the students said that she wanted to have a Bible and seek more about who Jesus is during the weekdays. What a beautiful thing to see! Throughout the night I was so touched by the Holy Spirit I sensed while we worshiped Him and discussed bible together, and I was so inspired by the wholehearted desire to serve and share the good news with international students of Rich’s family and the volunteers. I clearly sensed that God set the fire again in my heart to do evangelism to college students, and no matter how much time I have, I can do what I can.
One of the girls in the bible study group came to faith last semester, and God gave me the heart to disciple her, and then I asked God how. Can I do something more except for encouraging her to talk to the Father every day? God reminded me how I was challenged to lead a bible discussion group when I first came to Christ, and how He gave me the heart and strength to do it. I asked her as well as another student who is a believer in our group if they want to co-lead bible study together. Amazingly, they said yes! Both of them took the faith and started leading. One of the changes I faced is that instead of always initiating conversations and asking questions, now I need to listen more, sense more, and pray for each of the people more during the Bible study. I strongly sensed that God asked me to pray for everyone more often and support them.
Praying for others especially for the people who have a wounded heart is another vision that God gave to me this year. During the Vision Conference, Pastor Rich gave a speech about spiritual warfare, and I got to connect with a girl who is experiencing it and is searching for inner healing prayer. The 1.5-hour phone call with her really touches my heart, and I know I want to pray for and help more people like her. I want to be more empowered by the Lord to be able to do that.
I sense that evangelism, discipleship, and prayers are the three major areas that God want me to do in 2018. Beyond all those, my personal relationship with the Father is the priority. May 2018 be a fruitful and joyful year in Lord!