Excess Energy

At a late-night Bible study on a college campus, a student asked me an auspicious, yet overwhelming question

“Can we talk?”

I hesitated, thinking how desperately I wanted a shower and my pillow after a long, arduous day.

I agreed, and we walked to the commons.

While he purchased food, I waited at a table. I checked the clock. 11:15 p.m.

Finally he returned and said, “Hey, do you remember those guys on my floor I was telling you about yesterday? Well, I just ran into them and they want to talk to you about God.”

Thinking he meant they would join us at the table, I agreed to talk.

“They’re meeting us at the dorm,” he said.

I glanced at my watch. 11:30 p.m.

God, I am exhausted! I prayed. I just want to go home!

A passage I’d memorized—Colossians 1:28, 29—interrupted my thoughts: “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me” (New International Version).

God, I have no energy for this, I prayed. But I’ll show up as long as You do the rest.

Walking back to the dorm, my fatigue seemed to disappear, and I mentally prepared to talk to probably two or three college freshmen.

I was shocked to find 16 waiting in the lounge.

Bracing myself for a barrage of antagonistic questions, the first inquiry was posed with a surprisingly honest and sincere tone.

“What’s the big deal about Jesus?” a student asked. The questions continued—all of them genuine, all seeking truth.

Others from the floor joined us, and a total of 24 guys inquired about Jesus, Christianity and the Bible until 3 a.m.

That night turned into a weekly event for two semesters, and I was adopted as floor mentor for the year.

Looking back, I realize that if I had trusted in myself, I would have succumbed to my exhaustion, gone home and missed a life-changing opportunity.

Instead, I handed over to God an overwhelming situation, and He in turn used it to transform the lives of 24 students. And one Bible-study leader.