The Confidence to Witness
Posted on September 29, 2016 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
There’s a deeply spiritual lady in our church called Caroline. Sadly, she has a social phobia (the exact opposite of confidence) that cripples her life. In spite of this, she has brought more people to church and to ‘Alpha’ courses than anyone I can think of. I find that inspiring. She recently told me that at a conference two years ago someone shared a word from God that ‘Two men will pull you out of this.’ She’s been waiting for these two men. I told her that she should really only be waiting for one because her husband, Steve, is the other. Steve is a convinced atheist but he’s also a wonderful guy. He teaches college math. He’s kind and funny. He loves his wife deeply and has hung in there for all this time. Then it occurred to me that as her pastor, I must be the other. So I got Steve to meet me for coffee.
I shared testimonies of God working in my life in ways that are unexplainable apart from the supernatural. I told him that there was power in togetherness and that my idea was to pray together with him for his wife. He said, “You’re asking me to pray to a brick to make my wife better and in all sincerity I can’t do that.” I asked him if he would do anything to make his wife better including praying to a brick. In the end he said, “I’ll do it for you, Chris. It’s not for Caroline and it’s not for me, but I can see that it’s important to you.” So right then and there I prayed a short prayer and squeezed out an ‘amen’ from Steve. The next day I heard from Caroline. In her e-mail she said:
“Thank you for meeting up with Steve. I’m so glad he was able to talk to you about my illness. He said he’s never had anyone to talk to and it felt good to open up. He also came away questioning himself about what makes him so sure that there is no God, and that if God was to reveal himself to Steve, then he would accept him.”
This testimony is still unfolding but I believe in Caroline’s healing. I believe in Steve’s salvation. I believe in God’s goodness and power, and I believe that if we boldly witness, then we can not only have confidence in our own futures, we can even change the future for others.
Written by Rev. Chris Thompson: Chris is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and Pastor of Enderby Mission Church in Leicester, England.
The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 121; Proverbs 29
Daily Quote: Fervent prayers produce phenomenal results. ~Woodrow Kroll
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ~2 Corinthians 4:8-11
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