(864) 546-4540
Center for Global Opportunities
  • About
  • Outreach
    • CGO Screen Ads
    • Local
    • National
    • Global
    • Request Help
  • 2023 Trips
    • CGO Mission Teams
    • BJU Study Abroad & Study USA
  • Blog
    • Submissions
  • Internationals
    • International Student Organization
  • Events
    • MLK Day
    • GO Greenville
    • GO Week
    • Summer Ministry Conference
  • About
  • Outreach
    • CGO Screen Ads
    • Local
    • National
    • Global
    • Request Help
  • 2023 Trips
    • CGO Mission Teams
    • BJU Study Abroad & Study USA
  • Blog
    • Submissions
  • Internationals
    • International Student Organization
  • Events
    • MLK Day
    • GO Greenville
    • GO Week
    • Summer Ministry Conference

THE CGO BLOG

What's God Been Teaching You Through COVID-19?

5/1/2020

0 Comments

 

CGO Staff

Picture
God is good—this truth never changes. Whether I was diligently seeking to serve others, or wasting His time away by going through YouTube videos for hours… despite my fluctuation, God is always good. On the one hand, I see God’s goodness more because He has chosen to take some things away from my life. I miss my brothers and sisters in Christ. I miss people. I miss going out to eat. It would have been great to go to Japan for my internship this summer. I would have loved visiting my parents with my girlfriend for the first time. Whether it be a daily routine or a special event, I realized there were many things which I have been passively enjoying without actively glorifying God by giving thanks to Him. On the other hand, I see God’s goodness more because now I have more time to appreciate His blessings. I am thankful for having a phone to stay connected with others; for my friends who are so willing to give me a ride to a grocery store; for my fridge, microwave, and stove; for my couch; for the protection I have in my apartment; for the hot shower I get to take every morning… the list goes on. Everything I enjoy cries out, “… gaze upon the beauty of the LORD” (Ps. 27:4). So what can I say? I echo the psalmist: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Ps. 119:71). My God is good. -Moses

As a millennial American, life has always been fast-paced. Greenville is a growing city and with that comes unending possibilities to fill my schedule. As a lay-pastor, I have found that weekends are often busier than the work week. So, as I entered 2020, I decided this needed to be a year of “no.” I was beginning to recognize that being busy did not make me more spiritual. In fact, it was wearing me down and making me less patient with others and more hurried in my personal time in the Word. But 2020 was shaping up to quite the busy start.
Insert Covid-19.
Like many of you, I felt the initial sting of moving away from in-person community to virtual communities. Emails rolled in day after day of cancelled events and meetings. Then came the scramble to move our church online. Then, after the scramble, came the blessing.
Through the frenzy, our Church leadership landed on a study through Psalm 23 for our virtual small groups. It only took a couple of weeks before I realize what the Lord was doing in my life through this season. As Covid-19 cleared out my calendar, the Lord was using it to “make me lie down in green pastures.” I don’t like to “be still,” “to lie down,” or “to wait.” Maybe some of you out there are just like me!
As it turns out, God stepped in and said “no” to almost everything on my calendar. The Lord has given many of us an unusual time to rest! So tonight, I will enjoy Jeopardy with my family. And tomorrow, I will have another unhurried time in the Word!
- J


A lot of plans have changed in the past month. As a graduating senior, most of what I was hoping for has fallen through or has been put on hold. It was very easy to feel discouraged, confused, and hopeless amid so much uncertainties. This past month I have been studying 2 Corinthians, and the unshakable truth of the presence of the Holy Spirit has been a great encouragement to me. I have been rebuked that I do not always realize the weight of the truth that God lives in me, and because of the Gospel I get to directly experience His glory. This should cause us to have hope and not give up amid uncertainties and trials. The Gospel can encourage us because it gives us the power to overcome pressure, confusion, abandonment, and despair—Christ carries us from victory to victory. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we have everything we need to overcome every situation—including discouragement, illness, chaos, and even death. So instead of thinking about all what could have happened, I am thankful I get to witness God’s glory--which is far better. And I know that experiencing His glory will cause me to trust in His plans. For further encouragement, read 2 Corinthians 3-4. -Patricia

This time of relative isolation has been very instructive to me on a number of levels. Primarily it has reminded me of the frailty of life. If I cough or feel a little under the weather, I wonder, “Oh no, do I have the virus?” I have felt anxious at times about how a tiny, invisible bug could alter or end our lives.
All of this has reminded me that the Lord is unchanging. He is not susceptible to the things that can cause me harm, either physically or emotionally. So He is the Anchor on which I must depend. He is stabilizing and strong. The reality of His immutability has been impressed on me through this quarantine period.
Like everyone else, I am learning how to engage with others over digital media in new ways. During these weeks I have mostly served my students through online interactions. I have tried to think of ways to enhance interaction with students without adding to their overall workload. I really enjoy chatting with students and learning how they are weathering this season.
Because of the enhanced emphasis on internet communication, I have been interacting lately with Christians from around the world through prayer meetings and webinars. It really reminds me just how big the church of Jesus Christ is and shows me that I don’t have to travel to have serious conversations or to serve people in helpful ways. I am also being reminded that the things that unite us in Christ are far greater and far more important than the things that can so easily divide us. Sharing a common experience reduces the sense of difference that often becomes an obstacle to genuine Christian unity.
-Mr. Vowels


0 Comments
    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    *If RSS feed is not working for you, please add it to your app or software manually by adding this url:
    ​www.bjucgo.com/blog/feed

    The CGO Blog

    Written by the CGO staff, with guest posts from students and other faculty/staff at BJU to provide thought leadership for missions in a new millennium. 

    Categories

    All
    Alumni
    Ask A Missionary
    Atheism
    Bible Study
    Buddhism
    Catholicism
    Children's Ministry
    China
    Christmas
    Church Ministry
    Common Ground
    Contextualization
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Cross Cultural
    Culture Blocks
    Education
    Evangelism
    Field Reports
    Gratitude
    Great Commission
    Greenville SC
    Holism And Prioritism
    Inspiration
    International Students
    Islam
    Local Church
    Medical Missions
    Millennials In Missions
    Ministry Team
    Missionaries You Don't Know
    Missionary Kid
    Missions Gamechangers In 2018
    Missions Internship
    Missions Mistakes
    Missions Strategy
    Missions Trip
    Muhammad
    Multiculturalism
    Outreach
    Pastoral Ministry
    Persecution
    Prayer
    Preparing For Ministry
    Sanctification
    Study Abroad
    Testimony
    Thanksgiving
    Ukraine
    Uncomfortable Ministry
    Urban Ministry
    War
    Woman's Ministry
    Women In Missions

    Archives

    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

Picture

                               © COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.​

#BJUCGO