It’s been too long since I’ve posted on here.  And what better time to post than the day before school starts for students here at Virginia Tech!

One of the presuppositions of RUF is that God is at work.  In essence, it’s a summary of reformed theology. It gives us confidence as we go forth to do ministry on college campuses: God is great, and He is at work in us and in our students.  It gives us consolation: my justification is not based on whether or not I think I’m successful.  God has already worked in me.  It give us hope: God will accomplish His purposes.

I’ve found it a useful reflection the past couple days to consider how I’ve seen God at work and where I need to trust more that He is at work.  I’ll share some of that here, but would encourage you, whether you’re a fellow intern, supporter, friend, or some random person that stumbled on this post, to consider how God is at work in your life and look for areas in which you need to say “Father, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”

God’s grace to me and His work in my life has been most clearly seen the past three weeks (and especially this past week) through others, especially in hospitality.  I’ve received encouragement, beds to sleep on, meals, a place to do laundry, and most important to me, fellowship.  In addition, I’ve been blessed by several other first-year interns checking in on me.  This has come in the midst of moving troubles and my first week in a new town where I only know a handful of people.  Thank you to all of you who have provided, called, and more.

An area where I’ve been having trouble remembering that God is at work is in anticipating relationships with students.  I’ve been oscillating between “how am I ever going to find students?” and “wouldn’t this be a great way to connect with guys!”  Between hopelessness and self-reliance.  I need to remember that God is sovereign, and He has ordained who I will know, how we will relate, and the ways He will work in both of us over the year.  Not that God’s planning means that I don’t have to work, but I can and should take heart in the fact that His grace renders my work effective.