I have struggled to know when – and who – I should witness to. This has led to some really dark times in my spiritual life, where I lose heart to even be around unbelievers, where I have almost feared leaving the house, with some of these thoughts racing through my heart and mind: Do I say something now to this person? If I really believed what I say I believed, surely I would stand up and speak now… Do I give a tract to this person? Do I give a tract to this other person? Where do I draw the line? Why this person, but not that person over there? Do I take opportunities, or do I make opportunities? And to what degree? Should I be knocking on my neighbors’ doors today? Should I be canceling that special time with my family and using the time and money for evangelism…? This struggle has led me to some extreme ‘outreach’, which was not Spirit-led: One day on a bus, only recently married (with my dear, young wife at my side, and the bus full of our peer, college students), I found myself thinking some of above thoughts, and feeling that dark cloud descend. I stood up and said, ‘OK, everyone, since it’s Sunday and we’re not in church, I’ll share some scripture with you all here…’ And I proceeded to read a few verses from my bible, and share a couple thoughts. I thanked them and sat down. By God’s grace this led to a couple brief, follow-up conversations about the Lord, and I am confident that ‘false motive or true’ the Lord’s Word does not come back void. (Phil 1:18; Is 55:11) However… the truth is, my compulsion to share was not from, through and to the Spirit of the Lord. (Jn 5:19; Rm 11:33-36) It did not come in a wind of ‘Spirit and life’, which were the essence of Jesus’ words. (Jn 6:63) It came from a force of ‘theory’, and compulsion of pride, confusion, and fear. The Lord has a better way for us! Many years have passed since that time and era, and many battles fought in my heart and mind in this area. Let me cut straight to the ‘freedom zone’ here, and deposit a few insights to the way of witnessing in God’s freedom, courage, timing and guidance:
For more on freedom in sharing Jesus, please visit these pages on my website: Essays: ‘Feeling Pressure to be Rad’ for Jesus?’ http://sharingyourfaith.weebly.com/essays.html Videos: These video reflections are particularly aimed at ‘witnessing’: http://sharingyourfaith.weebly.com/videos.html This website is for believers only – family biz, so to speak!:) Please do use the tools, and feel free to share this website with other believers. Bless you! www.sharingyourfaith.weebly.com/
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AuthorPeter Walker. Archives
March 2022
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