Seeing God at Work in CIA
Waynesboro Cia
I want to introduce you to a seventh-grade middle school student in one of our Christians In Action (CIA) released time Bible programs. We will call her Anna. (Not her real name.)
Anna is only thirteen years old but has been through a lot in her young life. Just a few years ago she lost her mom to a drug overdose, and she was the one to find her.
Just before Christmas this past December, I stopped in to visit the CIA program she attended. She came into the program looking sad and quiet. When we started small group time, I took a moment to ask her what was going on. She asked the question, “How can God be good when He let my mom die?” With tears in her eyes, she told me about some of the things she has been through.
The question of “How can God be good and allow evil?” is a question we hear so many times from middle schoolers and one that is so important to discuss with them. In the short time I had with Anna, I pointed her to the story of Jesus and Lazarus in John 11. We discussed how Jesus knew what was going to happen at the end of Lazarus’s story, but everyone else just felt sad and were grieving. Jesus meets them in that place, weeps with them, and shows them the bigger plan. I encouraged Anna that even when we don’t always see the plan, God is with us, He loves us, and He feels our pain with us.
We had this conversation up to the stairs of the school where we brought her back. With tears in her eyes, she hugged me and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
What a special opportunity we have through programs like CIA and Bible Adventure to speak life, hope, and the love of Jesus into hurting and searching students.
If you’d like to bring hope to students like Anna, please check out how you can get involved!
