Testimony Tuesday: The heartbeat of a life surrendered to God

By Bella Agnello

“Are you just following in the footsteps of everyone else? Because you could really blend in if you wanted to.”

This is what Matthew Dudley, a sophomore Computer Science and Cyber Security double major, heard God speaking to his heart during a chapel at school when he was thirteen years old.

Dudley grew up in church and attended Christian schools his whole life, yet faith did not mean much more than going to church and occasionally reading the Bible.

Born in Chicagoland, IL, Dudley’s parents made church a priority for Dudley and his two younger siblings. Because his dad worked in facilities at their church, Dudley served during the services in the tech booth. He also went on trips with his church and attended discipleship groups.

“My family life definitely cultivated church involvement,” Dudley said.

In first grade, Dudley prayed with his teacher to ask Jesus into his heart.

Yet it was not until middle school that Dudley felt true conviction about his sin. Though he understood that God hated sin, he did not understand the weight sin had in the presence of a holy God.

Dudley knew he could go through the motions, saying the right things and being involved in the church like any other Christian. But he also knew that he wanted something deeper – something more.

So, during chapel in eighth grade, Dudley made a decision to fully commit to Christ.

“I just stopped paying attention and started praying,” Dudley said.

At the surface level, his life did not change automatically after that prayer. He did not start reading his Bible regularly and nothing looked different except for a newly convicted heart.

When Dudley got to high school, he again found conviction during a chapel done by his Bible teacher his freshman year.

“He talked about how when you’re following God, you don’t always know the next step and you need to be able to have faith to be OK with the unknown,” Dudley said. “That kinda hit me and I got serious about my faith.”

Dating in high school did not interest Dudley, and though he began to hang out with friends more often, he mainly kept to himself. So, in his freetime, he read his Bible more consistently.

Dudley also developed a curiosity for computers. During his freshman year, he built his own computer and realized that he might be interested in pursuing computer science.

His sophomore year, he took a cyber-security course which unlocked a new passion for him. From there, he enrolled in CyberStart – a program designed to introduce young adults to cyber-security.

“It’s like a game to me,” Dudley said. “If I can do that as a job, I would not be working a day of my life.”

Though he knew he wanted to work with computers, Dudley did not know what college he wanted to go to. But he remembered a chapel from eighth grade that preached on Proverbs 19:21, which says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Dudley believed that God would provide for him.

At the end of his junior year, HeartSong came to his church during the Transformed Tour in 2022. Though Dudley did not attend the event, his mother attended and found out about Cedarville’s cyber-security program.

“A Christian college with a cyber-security program – what?” Dudley said. “And sure enough, Cedarville’s ranked number one in the nation. I was like, ‘OK I’ll trust God because I don’t really have a plan.”

Dudley applied and got accepted to Cedarville University. He decided to double major in Computer Science and Cyber Security. On top of learning to balance these two majors, Dudley’s faith experienced tremendous growth.

Dudley came into his freshman year of college not knowing very many people. Already comfortable with spending time alone, he did not make much of an initiative to create a community for himself outside of his discipleship group. Yet, being in a new place with an unfamiliar group of people, Dudley subconsciously grew to care about what others thought of him.

Trying to figure out life away from home in an unfamiliar place, Dr. White’s phrase “no Bible no breakfast” hit home. And Dudley dove into the Bible unlike ever before, taking time to go deeper and reflect on the passages he read.

“I don’t go to breakfast half of the time, but I just started reading my Bible consistently and set aside time to do it,” Dudley said. “Even though it might still be the same amount of time, it feels more beneficial.”

In the transition from high school to college, God continued to press Proverbs 19:21 on Dudley’s heart. Cultivating a community took more time and patience than he would have liked, but over time God helped Dudley learn to wait on Him to provide.

Dudley did not have to wait long because that next semester, his group of friends flourished.

“I felt like I met more people second semester and made more relationships that will probably last,” Dudley said.

He does not know exactly what changed, except for the fact that at some point he stopped caring what other people thought about him.

“I think my identity wasn’t quite in Christ before,” Dudley said. “Then all of a sudden I was just like, ‘You know what? I don’t care what people think of me. I’m a child of God. It is what it is now.’”

Dudley’s favorite saying is, “It is what it is now.” And it pairs along with the verse that God unfailingly reminds him of in the midst of uncertainty. On Dudley’s Instagram bio and dorm room door he wrote Proverbs 19:21, a daily reminder of God’s faithfulness and perfect timing to fulfill his will.

Now in the beginning of his sophomore year, Dudley is thinking about pursuing missions with his cyber-security skills. Still, he is not sure what the future holds.

“I’m not trying to make plans, I’m just trying to figure out what the plans are going to be and God’s like, ‘Well you’re just gonna have to wait,’” Dudley said. “He is in control. Learning that’s probably gonna be a lifelong journey for me.”

So, Dudley will keep waiting on the Lord.

Bella Agnello is a junior Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major with a concentration in Journalism. She enjoys thrifting, listening to records and reading classic Russian literature in her spare time.