Removing the "What If...?"
Have you ever wanted to share your faith with someone, but stopped short because of worry or fear? Maybe you have had some of these thoughts run through your head right as you were getting ready to share: What will they think of me? What if they reject me or make fun of me? What if it costs me my job? What if they ask me a question and I don’t know the answer? What if I offend them? What if I trip over my words and say the wrong thing? What if this takes a long time? What if____(fill in the blank)____? and the list of “what if’s” goes on and on… These are just a few of the endless list of reasons we Christians have come up with for why we often don’t share our faith. Yes, I said we, because I’m just as guilty as you are of falling prey to the list of “what if’s”, though God has been changing my heart in this area and removing my excuses, and I’m asking Him to do the same in your life as well!
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Matthew 5:14-15
Let’s start by addressing the “what if’s” that have to do with our ability or knowledge. Many people feel they can’t share their faith because they don’t know all there is to know about Christ, the gospel, etc. If you look through the Scriptures you will find that often the most effective witnesses for Christ had known Him for no more than a couple days, they knew nothing about Him other than the testimony of what Christ did in their life when they met Him, but that was enough!
A couple examples: In John 4:1-38 the woman at the well encounters Jesus and He offers her living water—immediately she goes into the town to tell people about Jesus. All the woman knew was she met the Messiah who knew everything about her and He offered her life, so let me ask you, could you say the same thing? Have you met Jesus and He offered you life, if so go tell someone about it! In Mark 5:1-20 Jesus encounters a demonized man and sets him free—immediately he goes back to his home and tells his friends of the great things Jesus has done for him. So let me ask you, when you met Jesus did He set you free? Maybe it wasn’t a demon or maybe it was, but regardless Christ has set you free from something, did He set you free from anger? Bitterness? Lust? Drugs? Alcohol? An eating disorder? Depression? Anxiety? What was it? Recognize where Christ has set you free, and go tells someone about what Jesus has done for you! These are just two of a multitude of examples in the scriptures where people don’t know a lot about Jesus, but they met Him and told someone about it. Study the gospels and look for stories where people bring people to Jesus, often times it happens right after they encounter Him themselves.
I believe we have often done a poor job communicating to new believers the importance of sharing their faith, so a habit is formed of staying silent, we become kind of like 007 Christians. If you share your faith from the beginning of your walk with Christ it becomes normal, but if you aren’t discipled to do so, as you wait you begin to come up with all the reasons why you shouldn’t share your faith, the longer you wait the more reasons you come up with and the scarier it seems. If you have formed the habit of being a silent Christian, pray for God to empower you by His Spirit and fill you with love for others and boldness to share your faith. Then one step at a time begin to share your faith, no matter what happens don’t stop, breakthrough will come, step out in public and pray that the Lord makes you a better witness when your alone with Him in prayer!
What if the issue isn’t that you feel unable to share, but the “what if” is more about how someone will perceive you (fear of man) or what it might cost you (love of your own life)? God’s love will set you free from both of those fears, 1 John 4:18 says: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…”1 John 4:19 says: “We love because He first loved us.”
When we have a true revelation of God’s love for us, we will be secure in His love and the fear of man will be crushed. When we receive God’s love towards us, it will so transform us that we can’t help but share His love to others, God’s love will fill us and overflow from our lives. So again, seek the Lord and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit, His love, and His boldness that you might shine bright as a light in our day. Break the silence, step out, and see what God will do! May we see in the coming days the darkness overcome as the church shines bright until Christ’s coming day!
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” —Revelation 12:11
~Timothy Glasgo