But If Not…
I’ve been attending GYC on and off since 2013. I’ve attended 6 GYC’s total, and have volunteered for 4 of them, starting in 2017. GYC has always held a special place in my heart because that is where I had my first real conversion experience. The 2013 conference was where I had initially made up my mind to forsake my worldly lifestyle, as well as make a decision to go canvassing—which led to me attending an evangelism school—which ultimately led to me being grounded in my faith.
I attended the 2023 GYC in Portland and it was a huge blessing. I was one of the major volunteers, which meant I had a lot of responsibilities including being main hall coordinator, room host, security, and helping with evangelism. Due to my responsibilities, I was not able to reap the full personal blessings from being able to listen to all the sermons and seminars I wanted to hear. However I had the opportunity to serve and allow other attendees to be blessed by GYC. But even though I wasn’t able to listen to all the sermons, I was still greatly impacted by the conference.
The theme for this year was “But If Not,” which is taken from Daniel chapter 3, verse 18. In this chapter, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon set up a golden image on the plain of Dura and commanded all present to bow down and worship the statue, or be thrown into the fiery furnace. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. There were many other Jews summoned to the ceremony that day, who caved to the mandate. But Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, made a decision not to bow down, because they had purposed in their heart to follow God, no matter what the outcome. They said to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
This is where the theme “But If Not” comes from. We’ve heard the stories of people following God and then being delivered from their trials or circumstances. We’ve heard the stories of people standing up for their faith in spite of death threats, and God saving their lives. We’ve heard of people choosing to not work on the Sabbath, and God working a miracle with their boss who then made an exception for them to be able to take the day off, or God providing them with a new and better job which allowed them to keep the Sabbath. That’s all fine and wonderful, but what about the people who lost their jobs and couldn’t find another one? What about those who stood up for their faith and lost their lives because of it? This GYC’s theme was all about standing for God though the heavens fall. It was all about knowing God CAN deliver us, but even if not, we will still be faithful. We will still make a decision to follow Christ wherever that leads us, because He loves us so much and has done so much for us. And we want to honor Him even if it means worldly loss or even the loss of our lives. We want to stand for God in the big trials, just as Daniels three friends did, but the only reason they were able to be so bold in their faith is because they were faithful in all the little things. In every little decision, even in a matter as seemingly insignificant as diet (in Daniel chapter 1) they made a stand for God, and they were forging their character so that when the big trial came, naturally they would stay faithful to God.
The messages were powerful, and it brought more powerfully to my mind the ways I have backslidden and become less zealous for God, compared to when I had first given my life to Christ. It made me realize that I had slowly but imperceptibly become accustomed to the practices of other adventists around me, and made them the standard of righteousness, instead of the Word. I had become changed by the culture I was in. And this conference helped me make a firm decision, to get back to my First Love, and cut off the things from my life that I knew were drawing me further from Him, who loves me and gave himself for me. It made me want to truly honor God in every aspect of my life, and stop living a life of lukewarmness, which is so easy to do when everyone else is doing it. But God has a plan for the lukewarm Laodicean church, and it will see the greatest comeback in history. The church will wake up out of their apathy and proclaim the everlasting gospel to the whole world and finish the work, and see the long awaited second advent of Christ.
GYC’s messages and seminars were truly powerful, and it was quite an experience to be there in person. There were thousands of young people on fire for Christ, and there was an energy there that you have to experience for yourself. It gave me the spiritual revival I needed, it helped me stop my backsliding, and God impressed me to make the decisions for Him I’ve longed to make. There was also an emphasis to not let our spiritual high, die after going back home—but actually make a plan to implement once home, so we stick to the commitments we made at GYC. I was also able to make a lot of new friends, and it was a blessing to be able to volunteer and be part of such an inspiring conference. For those who have never been to a GYC, I would highly recommend going for both the social and spiritual blessings. In 2024 it will be in Columbus, Ohio, and I hope to see you there.
Brian is an engineer working in corporate America. He has a passion for ministry in his workplace. He is originally from Michigan, and currently lives in Westchester, New York. He attends Westchester SDA church and is involved in the ministry, there.