A Story Only God Could Write

Last night was definitely blog worthy to say the least.

I mentioned in a previous blog post, end of college wrap up (part two), about my college roommate getting saved. Well, I have more to tell you guys, and I'm so happy about it.

Last night, that same friend, Skyler, took her faith public and was baptized. It was a moment that I'll never forget, and it will forever stand as a reminder to me of the faithfulness of God.

As I sit here writing this, I feel like I can't do the story justice. Words alone can only go so far in telling you the joy and thankfulness that are still living in my heart from last night; nevertheless, while it is true that my words will never be able to fully express what all God has done here, I have to do my best.

If you've been a follower of Jesus for an extended amount of time, there is probably at least one person in your life that you have intentionally tried to reach with the Gospel. And if that is the case, then you also probably know that there are days where it can get tough. Because we, unlike God, can get impatient and try to speed things up that need to happen in time. This was definitely the case for me here a lot of the time.

Skyler and I met on Twitter. Pretty weird, right? At the time, it seemed like a strange coincidence, but as Pastor Anthony Kendall of Connect Church said during his message this weekend, "There is no coincidence in the Kingdom of God." I see now that it was God who crossed our paths on social media of all places. We were both looking for a roommate, and she eventually told me she was from Murfreesboro. What was interesting was I was actually visiting Murfreesboro in a few weeks for the state basketball tournament with my family, so we could actually meet up pretty soon. Another weird coincidence?

Long story short, we met up and really hit it off and decided to be roommates. We roomed together at orientation as well, where she shared with me that she had been raised in church but had never been saved. She said she wanted to, she just wanted to learn more.

From then on, I fully expected her to get saved at least by the end of our first semester; however, this was not the case.

It was about a year and a half into Skyler and I's friendship before she was saved. There were days during this year and a half period where I would get so frustrated with myself. I was convinced I had to be doing something wrong. Basically, in my mind, God had given me one job, and I was failing Him (and Skyler). I thought surely He should have picked someone else to be her roommate who would have done a better job at sharing the Gospel.

Of course, I knew I couldn't save her. I knew only God could do that, but I did kind of think the pressure was on me to help her make that decision to trust Christ. This thinking led to a big lesson God had to teach me.

Eventually, Skyler was saved at church, after a message titled, "People Live Forever." The pastor gave an invitation for people to respond to the Gospel, and she prayed to receive Christ in her seat. I found out after the fact.

I was absolutely overjoyed when she told me, and before she even told me, I knew because I could see the joy on her face. There was a change in her that I knew only the Holy Spirit could produce in someone. It was just the best.

All of that to say, God used her story to teach me a valuable lesson and grow me in sanctification. He showed me that while of course He wanted to use me as a witness to her, ultimately, only He could convict her of her sin and show her her need for a Savior. Only He could reveal the truth of the Gospel to her. Only He could draw her to Himself. Only He could save her. What I needed to do was completely hand it over to God and trust Him to handle it and continue to be a light to her. That was all God was asking of me.

It wasn't all up to me; in fact, it was completely up to Him. You can see this in the entirety of the story. I never would have been roommates with her in the first place had He not made sure we connected on Twitter right at the time I would be visiting the city she lived in. Her getting saved didn't happen in the timeline I would have chosen, but I think even that was on purpose. God was doing a work in Skyler's heart over that year and a half time period that I'll never truly know all about or understand, and I don't have to because it's her story, not mine. He saved her without someone even praying with her or sharing the Gospel with her one on one. It was a moment just between her and Him. He really didn't need me (or anybody for that matter). This was all really humbling to me as I really came to the realization that God could've saved Skyler without her ever even knowing I existed.

He didn't need to use me at all, but He wanted to anyway. For that, I will be forever grateful. Getting to be one of the people to share Jesus with her during that year and a half will always be one of the greatest honors of my life, and it also further fueled my passion for evangelism. God doesn't need to use us for anything (He is omnipotent, all powerful), but He absolutely wants to. We know that in the Great Commission, Jesus said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). It is the calling of every Christian to spread the Gospel to as many people as we can. It is our job to share the Gospel, but we have to trust God to do what literally only He can do (convict, draw, and save people).

The story has an epic ending all leading up to last night. At her last Walk ever (the college ministry where she has attended for all four years of college and where she was saved), she took her faith public and was baptized. I had tear-filled eyes most of the service, and I was just filled with gratitude to God for all He had done for us to be there in that moment. His sovereignty, goodness, and faithfulness were all on display.

If you have been sharing the Gospel with a lost family member or friend, I hope this story encourages you not to give up hope (and to not put too much pressure on yourself). Last night, as I got see my friend be baptized, that year and a half of waiting was more than worth it. Keep showing the lost in your life love, keep speaking truth to them, keep inviting them to church. What you do and what you say does matter.

At the same time, don't act like if they haven't gotten saved yet that you're a failure. You are not a failure because that is not your job. Your job is to share the Gospel and be a light to them; the rest is God's job, and He knows exactly what to do. He's quite literally never failed at anything.

Four years ago, I met a random girl on Twitter who became my college roommate, and last night, right before she graduates from college, I got to see her publicly proclaim to the world that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of her life. A story only God could write. A story I will forever be thanking Him for letting me be even a small part of. All glory to God.

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither is he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Corinthians 3:6-7.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9.