Day 38 - Not Always Fearless

If you're like me, you tend to think the Apostle Paul was always fearless in witnessing. After all, he suffered imprisonment, beatings, stonings, near-death experiences, shipwrecks, snake bites, false accusations, and the loss of all his earthly possessions for the privilege of constantly sharing the gospel. But that may not be the case. In his letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul writes to them about the spiritual battle that we're in (whether we realize it or not). He encourages them to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18). He asks for personal prayer. His request?

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should

(Eph. 6:19-20)."

He prayed for grace to overcome his fears in sharing the gospel. Not just once; he asked for prayer to be fearless twice. He was like us. He had fears too. He prayed about them. He faced them. He asked for prayer to overcome them, that they would not be a hindrance to God's will for his life--making known the good news.

I often get fearful about witnessing, too. I have to pray for fearlessness. Today, at the bank, a felt a bit of fearfulness in stepping out to share. But, I passed out three tracts to the three tellers who were closing up for the day. I encouraged them to read the million dollar question on the back. I pray the word of God on those tracts fell into good ground.

I was a bit fearful in sharing with the security guard at work today. I've been relating to him over the past few weeks and getting to know him. Today, I stopped to talk to him again with another gentleman who was there. I began to swing the conversation to the spiritual, because the topic happened to land on Michael Jackson. I began to get some insight into his spiritual beliefs. We didn't get into the gospel, but I left that encounter with some definite conversational ammo for our next meeting.

The other gentleman rode up the elevator with me to the office. I had given him a gospel tract a few days earlier. He volunteered that he finally had a chance to read it. I asked him if he acted upon what he had read to secure his eternal destiny. He said he had done so a long time ago. It was great to know that this man's eternal destiny is secure and that he's a brother in the Lord. I gave him several more tracts and encouraged him to pass them along. I'll follow up with him later to see how he's doing with his own growth in obeying the command to "GO."

I still wish I were fearless. I wish I didn't often have that initial hesitancy about asking people about their spiritual welfare. Pray for me. Pray that I would be fearless. I don't know how much time I have left. Today could be the last day I have to share the good news with someone who desperately needs it. Not by my might, nor by my power, nor by my wisdom, nor by my eloquence, but by His Spirit!