“I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” ~ Psalm 40:8
By Abigail Hasebroock
The time is 3 minutes to 8 p.m. The Century Tower is moments away from emitting its faithful evening chimes against the orange and pink backdrop of the setting sun.
Exhausted students sitting in the eerily silent libraries rub their bleary eyes as their sixth hour of staring at a laptop screen is rearing its ugly head. Other students trickle out of the dining hall with stomachs only partially satisfied from the lukewarm dishes they desperately tried to enjoy.
Mosquitos hover in the thick, humid air as they wait to pounce on their next victims. Alligators begin pooling to the surface of Lake Alice, and raccoons emerge from the depths of the campus conservation areas in search of delicious dumpster scraps.
It’s a typical Thursday night at the University of Florida, and a weekly Cru meeting is about to begin.
In the past, Adriel Nittala might have been frantically running around, trying to put out small fires that are never truly extinguished. In the past, the 21-year-old UF computer science senior might have allowed a deep sense of panic cloud his thoughts.
Now, Adriel said he’s learned by example to have faith that God will always come through.
“I'm going to do whatever I can, and I'm going to trust that God is going to fill in my gaps,” he said.
The world of ministry does not promise immediate praise or recognition. Instead, laborers for Christ are meant to lovingly serve without anticipating earthly acknowledgment. Adriel does just that.
“There’s pure joy in serving God and not expecting anything in return,” he said.
Adriel said he’s never found the feelings of contentment he derives from serving God anywhere in the secular world. Even the happiness associated with receiving excellent grades or being granted a competitive internship is wonderful, but it does not compare to the delight of humbly serving others and serving God, he said.
The impact of the actions committed to serving God and others may not be fully known until the ascension into heaven, he said. He believes a healthy way of viewing this service is by trusting God to mend the places that have been tainted by human imperfection and sin.
The adoption of this perspective was not innate, however.
“I used to view a lot of things in a very goal-oriented way,” he said.
Adriel served as Cru’s treasurer for two years, a decision that came after he walked away from his faith during his freshman year.
Before he could truly get drawn into deeply negative circles of people, Adriel said he was invited into Cru’s community, where he was immediately attracted to the vulnerability expressed by the men in his community group.
“I was really drawn into the way they treated each other and the way they thought about God,” he said.
The environment created by the community group drastically differed from the legalism that enveloped Adriel as he grew up in the church. Being a follower of Jesus used to mean adhering to a rigid set of rules, and sermons were merely lists of everything the congregation was doing wrong.
He fondly recalled a night during a community group gathering where people were sharing real and raw personal struggles as a part of their testimonies.
“I'd never seen that level of honesty before,” he said.
Despite having to navigate a season of doubt and mental challenges, Adriel said he is grateful for the experiences he endured. After reflecting on the person God has built him to be, he believes he is a much different person now than he was freshman year, and he is ever thankful for it.
“It would have been a very different path had I not come back to Christ,” he said.