Our current situation is not easy because of the pandemic that we are going through. To be honest lalo ako napapaisip about my future. My anxiety kicks in because of a lot of uncertainties and it makes me think, ‘kailan kaya ito matatapos?’
So how do I live out the gospel in my current situation? I live out the gospel in my current situation by dwelling on God’s Word and by praying every day. I also continue to serve God through everything he entrusted me with, which includes being more intentional in reaching out sa lahat ng friends ko.
Connect
Ultimately, para ma-live out ko yung gospel sa buhay ko, I have to make sure I am aligned with God. I need to dwell in His Word and to pray so that I keep my intimacy with Him. I believe kasi that being connected with God is one way of living out the gospel because His Word—as well as constant communication with Him—changes my perspective on how I should respond to situations like this. Plus, it keeps my eyes focused on eternal things rather than the uncertainties of this world. This keeps me on track in following God’s will and plans.
Serve
Another thing I practice to live out the gospel is applying what I’ve learned about God by serving Him and His people through ministries. Yung mga ginagawa ko before the pandemic, I manage to continue to doing it despite our current situation dahil God blessed me with resources to keep serving Him and His people. I still host my weekly Discipleship Group (DGroup)—both upline and downline—via Zoom. Similar to a small group, DGroup is a means for discipling other women under the authority and oversight of my local church, which is Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF). I am discipled by my DGroup leader through my upline, and I disciple other women as their DGroup leader through my downline. I believe that it is important to have fellowship and to learn God’s Word with sisters in Christ kasi we also need that for our Christian walk. Furthermore, I still serve at B1G Ministry for B1G Fridays, which is a weekly single’s ministry under CCF. Serving can be a challenge because everything is done online, pero it doesn’t matter so much since I can see God’s hand at work in my life and in the lives of those who attend. Ang pinaka-importante naman talaga is to draw closer to God and to cherish the journey we have with the Lord. Bonus nalang yung fellowship with fellow believers.
Share
Lastly, I try to reach out to my friends who do not know Christ yet. I do this by catching up with those na matagal ko nang hindi nakakausap to know how they’re doing given the current situation. I also ask how can I pray for them. The reason why I’m motivated to do this is because God convicted me during the pandemic to share the gospel to them. Why? Kasi if ako nga—who has Christ—still struggles with worry and fear, paano yung mga taong who do not know Christ? For those who know God, all we need to do is to focus our eyes on Christ right away. We need to find peace in Him and surrender everything to Him. It’s all about trusting and having faith in Jesus. However, for those who do not know Him, mas madali isipin na everything is hopeless and wala nang katapusan ang mga paghihirap na hinaharap natin ngayon. So mas doble, triple siguro yung nararamdaman nila about sa panahon na ito. Dahil dito, lalo akong nagkaka-burden to share the gospel to them; it keeps me going in serving the Lord.
Therefore, living out the gospel in our current situation is not easy but the knowledge that there is a big God—One who is bigger than this pandemic— makes it possible to fully surrender to Him and to serve Him in all the ways He entrusted to us.
Living out the gospel starts with us: by being connected to God and making sure to mediate constantly in His Word. It starts with communicating with Him, serving Him and His people, and in sharing the Good News to others so that it may give them hope in Christ as well.