| | Do you know what's been going through my mind every night for like the past few weeks? It's driving me nuts and making me spiritually restless
Every night, as I lay in my bed, ready to go to sleep, I think about my friends and family who do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or even less heard of the good news of God's grace. I think about how I will share the gospel with my friends and family members, where to look for these opportunities, how to take control of such opportunities, and what to say to make it not have an alienating effect. At the end of my thought process, I am usually so pumped up, ready to seek out these opportunities... and then I wake up the next morning and that feeling is completely lost. And the cycle repeats
It's no mystery to me what would make me feel a lot less restless -- to know that all my friends and family have heard an accurate account of the works of Jesus Christ, and how they can begin a new life in Him. While God plays the major role in drawing people to Himself, we as believers also have a part in this. As believers, we are called to bring the good news to every people (as spoken by Jesus in the great commission; or even understood from Romans 10:14-15). Although we are not able to change people's heart (only God can), we can be that instrument that God uses to speak the truth
I think my biggest problem, when it comes to being an effective instrument for God, is that I tend to only wait for "normal" situations. In other words, I want to begin a spiritual conversation as naturally as possible. (I'm talking about having a spiritual conversation with family and close friends, not randoms). What I have often failed to notice, and have sometimes only realized, is that any unnatural or awkward moment is only created by myself in my mind. It will only be as weird as I imagine it out to be. If I can take control of my mind, and rely on the Holy Spirit, then I can probably get that courage to speak out
I think it's still very important to be sensitive, though. I don't like to be viewed as someone who's "out there to convert because that's just what Christians do," but rather to have them understand that I am sharing these good spiritual things because I care about them. This takes a lot of time and patience, because it involves building good relationships with your friends/family
There are so many people on my mind who I would love to have a spiritual conversation with. Trying to seek out these opportunities, however, have so far proven to be extremely frustrating and defeating. I am also reminded that Satan is actively at work, and that our battle is spiritual, not against the flesh and blood of this world (Ephesians 6:12) (i.e. regardless of how defeating it feels, such feelings should never be expressed towards the friends and families that we are actually trying to reach. Instead, continue to love and care for them, and wait for God to supernaturally intercede)
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| | Posted 5/18/2009 12:02 AM - 14 Views - 2 eProps - 2 comments
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