Agonizing

To be successful in God’s eyes you will have to speak the truth in love and be a living testimony.  Have you ever felt like you needed to speak to someone about their sinful condition but you held back because you felt intimidated or fearful not sure what the person’s response would be?  I think that this may happen to most believers who take witnessing serious. I think many believers are fearful and intimidated in this area.  Confronting people about their sin is not easy especially in the culture we live in today where we are taught not to offend anyone and also about political correctness.  But if you think about it every generation had its problems in this area and persecution has always been the result in many cases.

If you read the Old Testament you know about the prophets who were killed for speaking out for God, as well as many disciples and prophets in the New Testament and all down through the ages until now, and it will continue to be that way until the Lord returns.  Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament who was called the ‘weeping prophet’ because he agonized over what he was told by God to tell the people.  Jeremiah prophesied what we would call gloom and doom prophesies today about repentance and judgment, like other prophets in his day he was hated by many.  His chief message was to call God’s people to repentance but most of the people rejected his message including the kings who continued in their sinful ways.  

Jeremiah didn’t seem to have much success by worldly standards but in God’s eyes he was very successful because he courageously and faithfully proclaimed the word that God told him to speak.  Jeremiah 1:5-8 says, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.  Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, I know not how to speak; for I am a child.  But Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.  Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith Jehovah.”  Jeremiah may have had a lack of self-confidence and fear like so many of us today but, just like God said to Jeremiah that He would be with him to deliver him, He will also be faithful to do it for us.

The Bible says, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper” and it also says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  The Lord never promised that it would be easy to witness but like He helped the disciples to be fishers of men He will help us also.

This reminds me of Moses who seemed to have the similar problem as Jeremiah.  When God wanted to send him to Pharaoh Moses had a big problem, it’s recorded in Exodus 3:11-12, “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’  And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.’”  Then it goes on to say this in Exodus 4:1,10-11, “Then Moses said, ‘What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say?  For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’  Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ The LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth?   Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?’”  

You would think after hearing all this from the Lord Moses would be ready to go, not so fast, it seemed Moses had one excuse after another until God finally sent Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be his mouthpiece or to speak for Moses.  So you can see that you’re not alone if you feel frightened or intimidated witnessing for the Lord, there are many that have felt the same way.  

And think about this, if you are rejected by someone they are not rejecting you they are rejecting the Lord!  So pray for boldness like the disciples prayed and go in the strength of the Lord and start turning this world upside down like the disciples did.  There is no greater joy than being used by the Lord to win souls for the kingdom.  God bless and have a great day.  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord.