With the recent news, the pandemic wreaking havoc in India and the rest of the world, the violence and injustice in Sheik Jarrah, the death of close people and acquaintances, I have felt deeply shaken. Faced with these situations, I would like to have obvious answers but I don’t have them, I would like to bring immediate solutions, but I feel humanly limited. Also, life doesn’t seem to have slowed down recently; working and taking care of students online require so much more organization than usual. Have you also had that feeling of having even less time than before? Yet, my Lord speaks of a peace that transcends all understanding, a joy that fills the broken-hearted, and he defines Himself as the God of justice. How can we live that reality in this broken world?
Phil.4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Stop… Pray… Listen…
When Paul asks us to present our requests by prayer and petition, perhaps we have an image of ourselves weeping and complaining before our God. And rightly so, the Lord wants us to come to Him sincerely, as we are. He wants us to take the time to do so. But one of the components of our communication with our God, and one that I personally need to work on, is listening. In our prayers, we are often like Peter who, after Christ’s transfiguration, makes wishes that make little sense (“…He did not know what he was saying…” – Luke 9:33). But the voice of Our Father urges us to listen to Christ (“…This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” – Luke 9:35). We did this exercise of taking the time to let GOD teach us, through Bible studies and prayers with the GBUC students of UdeM/Polytechnique. We were surprised by the results. Through the book of Luke, listening to Christ who travelled a country under the yoke of a cruel and unjust empire, with dishonest religious leaders and a poor and sick population, and approached his death with determination and a compassion for all mankind that defies understanding, has shaken our perspective. Despite all the injustice he experienced and saw, he never stopped loving all humanity.
Understanding the victory of Christ for all ages, through injustice and death, but also the resurrection so super-powerful, yet so sober and intimate in its unfolding (“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them…” – Luke 25:15), allows us to not limit our understanding at our current condition but to be grounded in a hope that goes beyond our lives. We may never know in our lifetime the meaning and fruits of all the trials we experience. But we know that GOD’s plan is bigger than us, and if we follow Christ, we contribute to his perfect victory that begins now, even in our suffering, and will be fully accomplished when He returns. So, for all those things that are beyond us, near or farther away in the world, we can pray to him and trust that he will act in due time. So let us joyfully await his return while serving.
Thanksgiving… Act…
The chaos that surrounds us does not prevent God’s plan from happening. He even uses it accordingly to His will to lead hearts to His grace. The winter semester was one of the busiest for our student leaders. Many professors, who could not do on-site exams, had doubled the online assignments and thus the workload of the students. It became difficult for many to attend GBUC online meetings regularly and students had to be encouraged to make the choice to rest when needed, even if it meant missing prayers and bible studies. Yet, GBUC students were dedicated to sharing their faith. During the Easter season in particular, at the initiative of the students, we each contacted one or two people to bring them comfort and encourage them to look to the cross of Christ, the only true hope in these times of crisis. We were surprised by the response to this “seed of love”. Also, we shared the Christian vision of Easter in two videos that were seen by hundreds of people. I invite you to watch them and practice your french by following these links: Part 1, Part 2. Let us rejoice that GOD is speaking through our lives. He has allowed this vital message of salvation in Christ to be published by young voices, purified by Christ and blessed for the work of Christ.
Personally, during this period, I was encouraged and continue to praise the Lord for the support in prayer and financially for my work at GBUC. May GOD infinitely bless all of you who help me in this good work! I also had a research contract at Polytechnique, a school that GOD seems to want to keep me close to. The challenge of managing this job with the one at GBUC was considerable because of the large number of work hours cumulated per week. Yet, I have seen and continue to see the grace of the Lord through weeks where I prepare technical reports one day and a Bible study the next. If working with students is a priority, I thank the Lord for allowing me to exercise the scientific skills he has allowed me to have.
Restart…
The chaos has not stopped around us. People are still suffering and it is normal that this suffering, which is also ours, continues to challenge us. That said, our Peace is that Christ knows perfectly well what it feels like (“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain…” – Isaiah 53v3), and through the Holy Spirit HE lives in our hearts. His victory at the cross, that of his resurrection is true, whatever the circumstances are (“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” – Ephesians 1:22-23). So, this summer we will continue with the students studying the Bible, praying, building our community, and sharing our faith.
Please pray for us :
- That Christian students who have lost their way in this time of pandemic may come back to Christ;
- For the mental health of students, Christian and non-Christian alike, that has been strained by these long periods of social distancing and isolation; online meetings have become burdensome;
- That we may be witness creative and wise witnesses of the Love of God while campuses are closed to activities deemed non-essential at this time;
- That the upcoming reopening of the campuses may be more than ever in favour of sharing the gospel; and even if it’s not, that students may shine their beautiful light in Christ so that GOD may harvest through GBUC.
And, pray for me that I creatively and wisely balance my various responsibilities. I love this wonderful work of seeing Christian students change the world. The world is broken, but this Peace that Christ has given is our share until the end of time.
If you want to be a part of what I am doing, feel free to pray or donate. I thank again all those who are already doing so and are the means by which GOD has surprised me wonderfully and continuously since, already more than a year ago, I made the decision to serve at GBUC.