Do it while scared

Daily Readings: Numbers 21-22, 1 Corinthians 2

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 

Fear is one of the greatest weapons the enemy has that keeps many potential marketplace missionaries on the sidelines. What if I say the wrong thing? What if they don’t believe me? What if they have questions I don’t have the answers to? What will they think about me if I bring up Jesus?

When it comes to people that do not yet know Jesus, Paul would argue you are exactly where God wants you to be in order to begin reaching out!

Paul came to the Corinthians in weakness, with great fear and trembling. His words were not wise and persuasive. He kept the message simple.

There is beauty in simplicity when talking to new Christians or people that do not yet know Christ. Paul was not trying to give huge lessons on church doctrine. He simply told people that this Jesus character loved them so much that he willingly laid down his own life so that they might have eternal life. He told that that Jesus was God’s son, came down to earth, was crucified for our sins, and on the third day rose from the dead. He came willingly for you and me.

We also see throughout Paul’s letters and through the Book of Acts that Paul is constantly referencing his own conversion story. He is constantly referencing how lost he was and how Jesus made himself known to Paul and radically changed his life.

When we are out in the world, and make the conscious effort to have our radar up, there will always be people that come into our lives who need to discover or rediscover Jesus. Our job is not to be perfect in the way we articulate church doctrine. Our job is to share our own testimony about what Jesus has done in our lives along with the simple message of the cross. God can guide us from there.

If we are willing to be used by God, he can do powerful things through us as marketplace missionaries. It is ok to be a tad bit nervous or even trembling as Paul said! Do it while scared. Action cures fear.

If we wait until we feel like we have every answer, until our fear dies down, until we “feel like it is the right time”, then we inevitably remain on the bench.

Jesus wants us in the game.

So have your radar up this week. Look for the people that God may have placed in your path for a reason. Don’t be afraid to share the gospel and your testimony over a cup of coffee with that person you have been nervous about talking to.

At first it is terrifying and then becomes easier and easier every time you do it. Eventually you realize that God has it under control and that the people you were so afraid to share with are not as scary as you pictured.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Do it while scared.

Thought to ponder

What has kept me back from sharing my own story with others along with the simple message of what was accomplished on the cross through Jesus’ death and resurrection?