Stuck in a tiny PT Cruiser for 15 hours while coming home from West Virginia, I shared about God and His Word. My friend was truly seeking answers for the first time in her life. It was a moment that God orchestrated, and I was soaking it all in as I answered question after question. My friend never grew up in church, never heard the Gospel and never understood who Jesus was or what He had done for her.
She needed to know answers to some very basic questions of the Christian faith, yet the complexity of those “simple” questions challenged me to think about my answers in a new light.
How can she accept what she doesn’t know or understand? Jesus shows us that we are sinners and we all need a Savior, but if she doesn’t understand who Jesus is, how can she turn to Him as Lord and Savior of her life? No one ever, in all her 50-some years, took the time to talk to her about Jesus!
“…Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to” (Romans 10:17 MSG).
Before my friend could trust, she needed to listen, and how could she listen if no one was willing to speak? There are times when I want to remain silent, when speaking God’s truth seems risky. But if I would have remained silent that day in the car, my friend might never have given her heart to Jesus. (Yes, she eventually did, after truly understanding!)
God gives each of us moments to “preach” the Good News about His son Jesus. We need to be aware of those arounds us and look for opportunities to speak. How can anyone accept what they haven’t heard?
What if someone had taken the time to “preach” to my friend earlier? She could have lived many of those years with the help of a Savior instead of stumbling through life on her own. What choices would she have made, what impact could she have had, how many other people would have come to know Christ because of her, how would her life be different if she simple heard sooner?
I don’t mean to dwell on “what ifs,” but we all have to admit, we have missed opportunities to speak God’s truth. And that decision, my friend, does have consequences that we might not ever know until we get to heaven.
Yet, God can use our missed opportunities to motivate us to speak up the next time we have the chance. When we acknowledge our mistakes, we can learn from them and move forward. I want to be bold; I want to please my Lord; I want to be used by Him.
Forgive me Lord when I miss those opportunities You place before me. Help me to speak up next time. Give me the strength and boldness! I need you Lord, and I need your courage!
That long trip in the car was just what we needed! Talking about Jesus and learning more about Him in both of our lives was a moment I will always remember!
Don’t back down! Speak up! People all around us need us to preach, so they can hear, so they can trust. When God’s word is spoken it never returns void!
“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11).
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom. 10:15).