Many times we wonder why certain things happen to us. We wonder whether we are doing something wrong because everything seems to be going in the wrong direction. But… perhaps that is the right way – not our way, but His way.

I was born in a Christian family. Since I was very little I attended church every Sunday and sometimes in the middle of the week. During my high school years the routine continued and I was sitting in the church’s chairs while my mind, my heart, and my spirit were not.

The summer before I started college I had made up my mind that I was going to become a doctor and that I would give one hundred percent to my studies. I had told myself that there could not be room for anything else if I wanted to become a successful doctor, which included my family and even God. However when school started I feared that I would end up in a bad place if I didn’t at least go to church. I searched for a place but had no luck.

On a Monday, during the second week of my fall quarter at UCI, I recall receiving many flyers from many Christian clubs. I did not know which one to attend so I just threw them all away and decided to go to whichever one was closer to my dorm. Sunday morning came and I was near the flagpoles of ring mall when I realized that I did not write down any of the information for any club. I then received a text message from one of the girls that gave me a flyer saying that there was a meeting at the Cross-Cultural Center. I decided to just go there and see how I felt. When I got very close to the room I heard people chatting and just walked in. The very moment I walked inside that room people began to greet me and warmly smiled at me as if they knew me. I felt so comfortable, and joy began to well up in me.

I was attending the meetings on Sunday only until one of the girls in the club asked me if I wanted to go with her to a family dinner. I did not know what that was but I agreed to go. I was quite nervous when I entered the home but, just as in the Sunday meeting, I was greeted and welcomed in such a wonderful way that I could not stop smiling. There I met many families. There was one particular family that, up to today, continues to shepherd me through my human life and Christian life. They have always been there whenever I needed them, and have really been like parents to me.

Months passed and I continued to enjoy the Lord. I was finally able to open up to Him and have a real relationship with Him. But, I had many concepts about God and what He wanted for me. I wanted to become the best professional and to have a successful life. Little did I know that the Lord had better plans for me…

In March of 2015, I attended a conference for students from college campuses all across Southern California. It was very enjoyable and touched my heart greatly. During that conference I felt like the Lord was trying to tell me something; I was not sure what but I kind of put that feeling aside because I did not think it was too important. I still remember that during one of the messages the speaker standing on the platform said that if we wanted to be part of the Lord’s kingdom we had to give our entire being to Him. He then made the call to those who wanted to be baptized. I suddenly felt a chill that ran down my spine. I closed my eyes and asked the Lord, "Is this what you want? Do you want me to give everything up?"

I stood up and walked to the back of the room. Some sisters followed me and took me to the bathroom so I could change. While I was waiting to get baptized I looked at the water and a tear fell down my cheek – I did not know why I was so afraid but I was. Perhaps it was the fact that I knew I was still attached to the things of this world and that it was difficult to just let go. I stepped inside the water and prayed, and as I was submerged into the water I felt something like a heavy weight being taken off from me. I realized that the Lord had taken so much from my shoulders. That was one of the steps that Lord led me to take that I will never regret, and that was the beginning of the Lord’s work in me.

My life did not become easy, it actually became harder because the Lord wanted me to further see that there was absolutely nothing I could do without Him. I threw out many of my old concepts and desires. I no longer wanted to do what I had wanted to do, but rather I wanted to do whatever He ordained me to. I had a tough time not knowing what I was going to do with my life and asked the Lord to give me answers. At first I was very impatient and it took a lot of work for Him to make me realize that He works at His pace, not ours.

While I served at a Bible camp for junior high and high schoolers this past summer, the Lord began to answer many things for me, but in a slow and gradual way so that I was not distracted from enjoying Him and He was able to gain more of me. Before the camp started I was unsure if I was going to be able to participate, but the Lord made it possible in the end. While serving I realized how much I loved and enjoyed being with children; I was doing two things that I loved, serving Christ and feeding Christ to His people. After that week I realized that the Lord was not leading me to become a doctor anymore because He knew that in so doing I would somehow forget about Him or put my career before Him. I prayed every night that He would enlighten me and show me what His desires were. Once we open our hearts to the Lord and allow Him to work in us, we become His expression, and that was what He wanted from me, to leave everything behind and to please Him. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…” Those words that the Lord gave to Paul made me realize that I wanted Christ to possess my life completely and if He wanted me to become a teacher then my response would be Amen! And if He wanted me to be anything else then, Amen!

Today I am currently studying to get a degree in education. After that my desire is serve the Lord as He desires. Whatever He decides to use me for I will be ready to listen and do while holding tight to His hand.

-KO

This week at the Irvine Christian Students Sunday Fellowship, I was struck by 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. These verses, as with so many other passages from the New Testament, completely overturns our expectations and instincts regarding suffering and conflict in our Christian lives.

In our lives as Christians, we want everything to go our way. We expect that, because we are faithful servants of God, we will be blessed with prosperity and good fortune. However, a closer look at 2 Corinthians reveals a different story, one in which what truly matters is our personal relationship with the Lord and not the solving of the problems in our human life.

In these verses from 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions his “thorn in the flesh,” perhaps a physical ailment, and he entreats the Lord to take this malady away from him. And why wouldn’t God do this? The apostle Paul is probably God’s most productive servant on the earth during the first century, preaching the gospel throughout that part of the world, from Judea to Greece to Rome. Our initial thought might be that Paul deserves to be blessed, that God would deem Paul to be a good Christian and worthy servant, and thus take away the thorn in his flesh.

However, the verses sharply subvert our natural concept. Rather than healing Paul, the Lord tells Paul:

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

This is a stunning turn, because it means that it is actually our weaknesses that allows us to experience the Lord’s grace and power, and which bring us into a closer relationship with Him. Paul came to realize this. Instead of becoming depressed by the Lord’s not removing the thorn, his realization causes him to be pleased in his weaknesses and to even boast in them.

This only makes sense when we consider God’s larger goal. God’s goal is not that His believers would have a comfortable, relaxing, untroubled life. If that were God’s plan, He would most definitely have cured Paul and would have prevented him from being persecuted. Rather, God is after a personal relationship with His believers. When our lives our going blissfully, when we have moments of strength, we are less likely think about the Lord. But when we experience moments of weakness, when our lives are full of persecution or suffering, then we are compelled to turn to the Lord and to develop an even stronger relationship with Him.

The Christian life is inevitably one that involves some suffering. But from this week’s meeting with Irvine Christian Students I learned that these moments of suffering are opportunities to turn to the Lord and become closer with Him. Hopefully we can all learn to apply this message to our lives every day.

-PB, graduate studies

I used to have a rigid way of spending my times with the Lord. My prayer time mostly consisted of asking God what I wanted. If I felt that my prayer was not being answered quickly, I repeated the prayers over and over, as if I could force God to give me what I wanted. However, I realize now that I should have focused more on fellowshipping with Him and being in His presence, rather than begging for the things I desired. This change in thought is due to a recent experience of my prayer-life in which I realized that the Christian life is not about asking God what I want, but rather it is about what God would want to fulfill through me.

Romans 12:2 says, “…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.”

As I was conversing with a friend, both of us agreed that I became much more calm, less anxious about many things, and peaceful at difficult times compared to my high school years. However, this change in my character and overall mood is not an automatic shift that came out of thin air. As I have mentioned before, my prayer life was previously all about me. It would sound sort of like: “Lord, I really love You. Thank you for blessing me today. Lord, could you…[insert request].” I have noticed that after engaging with the Lord more through the Holy Scripture, attending fellowship meetings, applying what I have heard into life practices, and speaking with other believers, that my prayer-life has been more like a duty as opposed to something I did out of my love and enjoyment of the Lord.

Therefore, I began to work on enjoying the Lord more in my prayers to Him. When I simply talk to God about my day and spend time with Him, I experienced His supply flowing into my being. So I began to focus on enjoying God Himself! Through this change in my prayer-life, the Lord began to renew my mind. As my mind was renewed in many things, I became more peaceful and aware that my life is not just about me.

I am able to tell my friends that I do not worry so much about not getting what I want anymore, but that I really want what God has for me because God has the best intentions for me. I am learning that life is not about making sure our own purpose is fulfilled, but it is about making sure that God’s purpose is fulfilled in us. Since God is eternal, His purpose for us is also eternal. His eternal purpose can be seen in many verses.

John 10:10:
“…I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.”

John 14:6:
 “…Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life.”

God’s eternal purpose for us is to have life that comes through Jesus. This is truly an awesome thing to have the life of Christ within us and operating in our lives. However, God’s purpose does not end with us possessing this life. He desires that this eternal life in us would be expressed.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says,
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.”

The life that Christ has given us through the shedding of His blood is purposed to be expressed through us. We are the vessels that display the life of Christ. The Scripture says that we have received the treasure (life of God) and this life force is powerful.

When my eyes turned toward the Lord and less toward me, circumstances became less difficult. In my prayer-life, my focus is knowing and fulfilling God’s purpose, enjoying and expressing His life. Then everything else will follow.

-CB, 4th year, Biology

This week with Irvine Christian Students, the theme of the message continues to be about a life of forbearance without anxiety. It is easy to lose our focus in our own affairs, especially during these times where things seem so uncertain. Due to the current events, we become easily anxious about many aspects of our lives – our school, jobs, the economy… etc. Being a Public Health major, it is harder for me to distance myself from current events, especially because my classes are infiltrated with the topic of COVID-19. Bombarded with information, we are all struggling to not be so consumed by many unsettling thoughts.

During the Sunday Fellowship, I realized that this anxiety does not only affect us mentally but it also affects us spiritually.

Romans 8:6 says,
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.”

When our mind is set on outward problems of the world, we are separated from God, being unable to receive the Spirit into our spirit. When my mind is set on the outward problems of the world, I feel separated from God, and unable to contact and receive more of the Spirit into my spirit.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says,
“And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me.”

In order for the Lord’s power to be perfected in us, there is a need for our weaknesses. Often, we find our weaknesses and failures as we go through trials and sufferings; yet these trials are not merely for us to suffer through, but for us to gain Christ. And we need not worry not for His grace is sufficient for all of us! In times of trials and tribulations, the Lord continues to tabernacle over us, overshadowing our weaknesses and giving us His grace and power,which is in Christ as the life-giving Spirit!

What is more encouraging is that Philippians 4:5 tells us,
“Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near.”

How amazing that the Lord is always ready and available! He is always so close to us to help and supply us with Himself. Hebrews 12:2 tells us the way is to receive is by “Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” A line from the  a hymn we were singing today sang during our Sunday Fellowship says, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” By looking away from all earthly things we are putting our trust and faith into Christ Jesus. When our attention is on Him, our anxiety will cease and instead we will be filled with peace and life!

The times I feel the most anxious, I find that my mind is set on the flesh and earthly matters. It is focused on this pandemic, on my schoolwork, on my future, on my family, and basically everything that is not God Himself. When I am not in my spirit, touching the Spirit of God, there is nothing stopping my mind from avalanching into feelings of worry, doubt, and fear. My mind continues to play up these emotions until I am completely overpowered. Before I truly learned about the word of God, I would just continue to allow myself to wallow in a pit of anxiety. But since I have received Christ and learned of His promises, I realized that I do not need to remain in my emotions. By calling on His name, I can depend on Him to carry a burden, that I in my flesh am too weak to bear alone. I am not ashamed of my weaknesses, because it is through my opening to Christ in my weaknesses, that Christ’s power is perfected.


-AR, 3rd year, Public Health Policy

This quarter, during our Sunday Fellowship at UCI, Irvine Christian Students has been focusing on a life of forbearance without anxiety. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we are living in a time of uncertainty, uneasiness, and worry. However, God does not desire for us to be anxious people, but instead to live a life of forbearance and peace through Christ.

Human life is a life of anxiety. There will always be circumstances in our personal lives and in the world around us that cause us to worry. Anxiety comes from Satan who is constantly trying to draw us away from God. If Satan is able to make us anxious, we cannot live a life of forbearance and thus cannot live a life that expresses Christ. A human life under Satan’s control is a life apart from God. But praise the Lord there is another life we can live: the Christian life!

The Christian life is a life that allows God to express Himself through us in all situations. Today as Christians who have Christ within us in our spirit, we can live a life of forbearance and peace. However, if God desires for His people to live in peace, we may wonder why He allows anxieties into our life. We can look to the Bible to find the answer.

In the Old Testament, Job outwardly had a great life and was a good person (Job 1:1-5). However, Job did not know God in a personal way. God allowed Satan to trouble him with many trying circumstances. It was through these situations that Job was able to surrender to God fully and turn to Him. Eventually, Job saw he needed to gain more of God. If Job would have continued to live a life free from difficulty, he would have never been able to pray these words to God seen in Job 42:5:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen You…”

In the same way, God allows and even assigns certain circumstances in our lives that cause us much pain. Just as a parent allows for their child to endure situations for the sake of their human growth, the Lord also uses difficulties in order that we may grow spiritually in Him. We must realize God is our loving Father who cares for us, and as His children we will always be within the safety of His hands. With this assurance in our hearts, we can live a life of forbearance and peace.

A life of forbearance is accomplished through prayer. When we turn to God in prayer, we contact Him and allow His life to infuse us. His life and peace allows us to endure troubling circumstances to live a life free from anxiety.

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us:

“In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

Because of this pandemic, I’ve lost my job, moved back home with my parents, adjusted to online learning, and been forced to find new ways to stay connected with my friends despite distance. My world as I knew it has shifted suddenly and completely. While I do wish my life could go back to normal at times, I would not trade this situation for anything. My eyes have been opened and my heart has turned utterly to Him. I’ve realized how much time and love I give to nearly everything except the Lord. With each day that passes, I come to know Him as my personal God who is near to me. I can testify that in these few weeks, the Lord has gained more of me than He ever could have gained before. I’ve learned to rely on His supply of grace in the midst of my situation through prayer. My hope is that we would not suffer through this time, but instead use this time as an opportunity to turn to the Lord and allow Him to gain us fully.

-DH, 3rd year, Political Science

I’m sure you and I can agree that these are some strange times that we’re living in with the advent of COVID-19. This global pandemic, the topic of nearly every new’s story and headline, has affected our society in a number of different ways. At the same time people are contracting the virus, people are also facing tight restrictions, unemployment, supply shortages, financial burdens, and other problems. Because of all the chaos that has stemmed from this pandemic, many individuals have been consumed with fear and anxiety. This is the natural response people tend to have whenever personal safety and comfort are disturbed.

In our Sunday Fellowship, Irvine Christian Students has been covering the book of Philippians, and here we see that Paul’s safety and comfort were not just disturbed, but stripped away completely. As a prisoner in chains, he had just about every reason to be fearful and anxious. Yet, what did he write in Philippians 4:4?

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

How amazing is that? Paul did not say to rejoice in the Lord sometimes or rejoice in the Lord when everything is great. He said to rejoice in the Lord always! That means the Lord is worthy of our praise, regardless of the circumstances. Especially in this time, with all of the uncertainties surrounding us, what a blessing it is to know the one thing that is certain. Our certainty is Christ Jesus as our Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20), our solid Rock (Matt. 7:24), and the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). He is the One who has purchased us with His blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19), that we may be partakers of the divine nature of God (2 Pet. 1:4). And because we have been purchased by His blood and now belong to Him (1 Cor. 6:20), nothing can snatch us from the Father’s hand (John 10:29). That, brothers and sisters, is the reason to rejoice!

I can personally testify that my experience of rejoicing in the Lord as of late has been very sweet. Although being without a job and having to take classes remotely has been tough, my time spent rejoicing in the Lord has really shifted my perspective. It has caused me to view my situation not so much as a burden, but rather as a platform for the advancement of the gospel — just as Paul would view it (Phil. 1:12). Furthermore, my rejoicing has helped alleviate anxieties that have tried to rise up within me, replacing those feelings with a sense of peace that comes only from the Lord. So, brothers and sisters, let this be an encouragement to lean on the Lord and to rejoice in Him for all that He has done.

-TP, Junior, Biomedical Engineering

In this week’s Sunday Fellowship with Irvine Christian Students, we expounded on a life of forbearance without anxiety. During the current times, we are in need of God’s forbearance, but what is forbearance? Forbearance is a virtue that allows us to be satisfied with less than our due. This is an all-inclusive Christian virtue – a virtue that is not a human attribute, but a spiritual one. This virtue comes from Christ, who is the forbearing One. With that in mind, the only way for us to have forbearance is to have Christ. Let’s delve into this a bit further.

Philippians 4:12-13 says,

“I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.”

In these times of self-quarantine, we can encounter many draining situations: from the long hours in close quarters with our families to transitioning to online classes. This can make it hard to be forbearing and may even cause a great deal of anxiety. However, we must remember that the secret for living a life of forbearance without anxiety is in Christ! The way that we can be empowered to live a life of forbearance is to be in Him, to live a life that is in Christ, but how can we work this out practically?

Philippians 4:5 says,

“Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near.”

From this verse, we can see that the Lord is near. The Lord’s presence is near. He is not only in the heavens, but He is the Spirit in our spirit. He is in us. However, although He is in us, we need to come forward to Him. This can be done by making motion to God throughout the day. When we realize that we are anxious and are unable to endure, that is the perfect time to come forward and draw near to Him. Making motion to the Lord can come in numerous forms. We can call on His name, telling Him “Lord, I need You. Oh Lord, I love You.” We can sing, enjoy His Word, and pray. There are so many ways to draw near to Him. The Lord is the one that arranges all things, all the situations, to help us draw near. May we not miss this opportunity to experience His presence.

-MR, Senior, Pharmaceutical Science

Anxiety is the gear that turns the world – it is the natural response to so many inexplicable things that are happening, and it is the driving force behind our economy. Anxiety is everywhere and in everyone. What can we do then to combat such a burdensome condition? Do we rely on the strength of our wills and depend on the fortitude of our minds when hardships and stressors afflict us? This week during the Sunday Fellowship with Irvine Christian Students, we learned that attributes such as meekness and kindness accompany a forbearing life. We also recalled that we were each created as vessels to contain God, just as a Coca Cola bottle was made to contain Coca Cola. Like a glove, made in the image of a hand so that it could eventually be filled with a hand, man was made in the image of God so that man could be filled with God; thus, God wants to come in and fill us. As human beings created in God’s image to express God, so also we express certain virtues He possesses such as love, kindness, patience, and righteousness. God indeed wants to fill us – in fact He wants to load us with good!

Mark 10:18 tells us that: “no one is good except One – God.”

Psalm 69:19 says,
“Blessed be the Lord, who day by day loads us with good; God is our salvation.”

If day by day, we allow God to “load” us with good, with Himself as good, He will become a daily salvation to us. If we want to be saved from anxiety and ultimately live a life of forbearance, the way is not to struggle for or seek refuge in the comfort of external and material things, nor to endure our circumstances by way of conjuring up what patience and tolerance is in us. These will run out and fall short. Rather, we ought to let the Lord fill us as the forbearing One with unending patience and unlimited tolerance.

If God intends for us to live a life of forbearance, why then do we encounter hardships and experience affliction in our lives? We can turn to examples of people in the Bible who the Lord gained during very specific circumstances in their lives. We learned that every situation is divinely planned and assigned to us. Isn’t that a wonderful realization? In the Old Testament, prior to having a son, it does not mention that Enoch walked with God. When he was 65 years old he begot Methuselah and began walking with God (Genesis 5:22-24). His walk with God lasted about 300 years before he was taken by God. Enoch took raising a child as his assignment and through this assignment he began to walk with God. In the New Testament, Peter was, quite literally, assigned a circumstance by God – one characterized by strong, contrary winds (Matthew 14:22-33). Just as Peter was instructed to go across the sea, oftentimes, the Lord sends us towards a certain situation or direction that, to our dismay, may be full of contrary winds. I appreciated this segment in the chapter when Peter stepped off the boat and walked towards the Lord, who at first the disciples thought was a ghost (v. 26). We can see that in this incident, Peter is a good pattern in both his victory and failure. Although he was at first frightened, Peter still exercised some faith and told the Lord that if it was Him, to call him to walk on the water towards Him (v. 28); when he was bid by the Lord to come closer to Him, Peter took a step of faith, which allowed the Lord to enter into his situation. As a result of his willingness, despite his doubt, Peter was able to still experience the Lord amidst uncertainty and contrary winds.

Peter began to sink because he looked at the contrary winds (v. 30), however he should have kept his eyes on Jesus. Similarly, the way for us to overcome our various trying situations is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Actually if we would realize that all circumstances are assigned by God so that we can be gained by God and so that we can gain God, then we would be able to live a life free of anxiety. Knowing now that everything that comes our way is actually assigned by the Lord in His great sovereignty should assure us that, although we may not realize what He is doing at the moment, it will turn out to our salvation.

-RW, 4th year, Human Biology