Part of His Plans

This was the testimony I shared during the Spring Bible Conference & a little bit more. (:

Simon’s passover journey from Cyrene, nowadays Northern Africa, to Jerusalem is represented in one verse - verse 26 - “As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Although Simon’s part is such a small portion of the large scheme of Jesus’ crucifixion, this was no coincidence that Simon was chosen to carry Jesus’ cross. Journeying to celebrate the passover, Simon must have been caught off guard when he was told to carry Jesus’ cross. Who was this Jesus? Perhaps Simon heard stories about Jesus on his journey here - stories of his teachings, parables, miracles, and healing. Maybe he thought Jesus was a great man, a prophet, or maybe even a criminal. Why else would he be on his way to be crucified? Even in the midst of Jesus’ ultimate suffering - while he was bearing the sins of the whole world, God thought of Simon and chose Him to be involved in his redemption plan. Therefore he obeyed and dragged the heavy cross, the cross that Jesus would be crucified on. At that moment, his suffering had no explanation. If I was chosen to carry someone else’s cross, I would have probably gone home and told my family that I had a terrible day. Despite his sufferings, through this encounter and journey, Simon met Jesus. And his life was forever changed. Later on, we find out that his whole family became Christian. In hindsight, Simon’s burden of carrying the cross was actually a huge blessing. This semester has been a really difficult semester for me - juggling responsibilities as a student, guided study session leader, youth group teacher, and doing my best to serve the church through the talents God has given me. I had no idea this semester was going to be difficult, but after a few weeks into the semester, I realized that biochemistry is really hard. And I haven’t really had time to physically rest. I want to do give God the best in the work that I do. However, I realized that I am weak. And right in the middle of the semester, in the middle of stressful weeks, it’s hard to see the overall plan that God has for my life. Even though I don’t want to be worried and anxious, I often find myself worried and anxious about my grades, future, and things I just need to trust God. Just looking at my circumstances, it feels like I’ve just been suffering. But I’m encouraged by Simon’s story. Through the conference, I also realized that although I desire to see the spiritual world, I am influenced by this world and I am also blinded. I can only see what is right in front of me, but I am so encouraged by the word of God at this Spring Bible Conference. Although I can only see the difficulties right in front of me, I know that I am so blessed right now. John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” It’s amazing how God chose Simon to be part of his redemptive plan. In the same way, it’s amazing how God chose me - a sinner, to be part of his redemptive plan.

Adding onto my testimony, I want to say that it was such a great weekend listening to the word of God, life testimonies, and seeing people serve God in all the ways they did. I'm so thankful for everyone who worked in front and behind the scenes in order to prepare for the conference - the praise team, media team, messengers, life testimony speakers, Bible study leaders, etc. Attending this conference made me realize how blessed I am to be part of a ministry with people who serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Yes, God is working in our lives and I can't wait to see more of what he has in store! I was also really encouraged this weekend to hold onto God's words as truth - absolute truth because God is faithful to do what He has promised to do.