God Won’t Coddle the Faithful

Jun 23

There are many reasons why sharing the gospel becomes a daunting task to a Christian, rather than a natural, joyful response to receiving the greatest news ever.

When we stay in our own Christian bubble long enough, sooner or later we settle and no longer take intentional steps to minister to non-believers. There are also others who feel ill-equipped to talk about the gospel, while others are waiting on the proper time and place to bring it up.

Whatever the case may be, my purpose for writing this article is to affirm that yes, sharing the gospel really can be scary. This is definitely an common fear among Christians—new and mature alike.

A Common Fear

There are organizations such as YesHeIs that exist for the purpose of encouraging and equipping Christians to share the gospel to their sphere of influence—whether it’s your officemate who sits next to your cubicle, or the thousands of listeners you have on your podcast. God has given all of us unique positions to influence people, and He intends to use this precisely to preach His goodness, through both word and action.

If you’ve been feeling a strong nudge from God to reach out to a certain person, but have been feeling resistant to His calling, I would like to share an encouragement from a sobering interaction between Moses and God.

God’s Response to Moses’ Doubts

“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:10-12)

Notice how God deals with Moses’ doubts, which might be exactly the same as yours: He does not coddle Moses. He does not tell him that he can delay obedience until he is ready or consider other options.

This is not to say that God is not willing to give grace for the times that we’ve actually said these excuses before. But because of the great, deep love of God for both you and the person He wants to reach through You, He cannot let the lies of the enemy overcome us.

So how does He respond to Moses? Essentially this is what God said: “Who gave you your mouth, Moses? Is it not I, the LORD? That you feel inadequate is irrelevant to My calling for you. I will supply what I require. Trust in Me! Not your skills. I will help you!”

A Renewed Motivation

I don’t know about you, but this gives me great sense of relief and freedom. As someone who tends to be very self-conscious about how she performs, this is the kind of God-centered rebuke I need.

Yes, I know that the gospel sets me free from the need to perform in order to earn my worth. But this does not excuse me from obeying God in doing difficult things that require effort and intentionality.

As a musician, I often struggle with doubts over my ability to sing my songs well in public, to lead worship, or to actually finish the album I am working on. And though it comforts me to know that God loves me unconditionally before I even begin to sing a note, this does not excuse me from using the skill He gave me, as if to look “humble”.

We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), therefore we cannot stay hidden. We must go out into the world to love and serve others, and our help and strength is the Lord Himself. The Lord Himself!

God Goes Before You

Think about that for a second: The Lord is your help. He’s gone before you. His grace for you is ready, even if you don’t feel it at the moment. What would you do today if you truly believed that God is for you, and your ever-present help? Who would you share Christ to?

Loving Father, increase our faith! Help us to walk in the path that You’ve prepared for us, fully believing that You go before us, and that You will provide everything that we need. And when all is said and done, help us to give all the glory back to You.

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