Are you timid about sharing your faith? 5 Confidence Boosting Motivators for the Timid Evangelist
I am one of those people that prefers to take a literal word meaning to the verse, And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; because then I have an excuse that because I am not a natural evangelist, the Lord couldn't possibly have called me to be one. My thinking is flawed, I know... Anyone else with me? Anyone else timid about sharing your faith?
Well, the Lord worked on me recently as I was studying the Word of God where I was struck by 5 confidence boosting motivators to spur on even the most timid evangelist.
What does the Bible say about Professing Your Faith
To take the fear out of evangelizing, we must first look to the Bible to spur us on in the sharing of our faith.
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;
yet do it with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16
And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luke 24:27
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are
they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear
without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:14-15
The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say at the moment when you need them.
Luke 12:12
Indeed there are Christians who are incredibly gifted in the area of evangelism. Those Believers who can't help but share with anyone they come in contact with. In fact, they have no problem going door to door to share the Good News with total strangers - the very thought of which raises anxiety in those who would not be comfortable around strangers let alone sharing about their faith with them.
Not all Believers have a bent toward this type of extroverted evangelism, but we ALL have a faith story that contains a powerful witness of God's work of salvation in our own lives, a story that needs to be shared with our families, with our classmates, with our co-workers, and with our neighbors. God's Word is very clear about that...
Motivator #1
The Lord provides the Words for you to speak and prepares the heart of the recipient to hear.
Fear of Sharing the Gospel
So what causes anxiety and/or hesitancy in a Believer to share their faith.
The Word of God tells us that the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. As people, we don't like to either offend or upset others, and that's a loving mindset to have, but how loving is it, if we've let fear discourage us from being used by God to witness His love to someone who in that moment is indeed still perishing?
There is, of course, the fear that we don't know what to say or that we are going to somehow mess up or make things worse by sharing our faith.
And finally, it's hard for many people to just approach strangers and start sharing about their faith.
You might find that ALL of these reasons add to your anxiety about sharing the Gospel.
Motivator #2
Motivate your inner evangelist by letting the fear of sharing your faith be an opportunity for God to show Himself big, both through the Words He will prompt you to speak and through the response of the person with whom you are sharing.
Sharing Your Faith Without Fear
Are you wondering? How can I share the Gospel without fear, ESPECIALLY if I am an introvert at best.
We know that those whom the Lord has called, He WILL bring to Himself
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love
Ephesians 1:4
Motivator #3
I believe that not only does the Lord choose us in Him before we even take our first breath, but He also chooses those who will be the conduit for sharing the Good News for those He has chosen.
Just that knowledge alone should encourage us to share our faith, even our introverted selves, for we know that ANYTHING God has preordained WILL come to pass. There is no fear when God is in the details!
When we are timid about sharing the Gospel, we must let our love for God and for those who are lost guide our actions.
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD,
and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
1 Samuel 3:7
He said to him, "Behold now, there is a man of God {Samuel} in this city, and the man
is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there,
perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out."
1 Samuel 9:6
I love how these passages about Samuel shed light on God's plan of salvation for EVERY individual, from pre-conversion to serving the Lord.
God will order the steps of those He has called to meet up for a Divine appointment with the beautiful feet that will bring them good news.
Motivator #4
When we share the Gospel, it is not just for a moment in time, but you are being used by God to usher in Kingdom hands to do important Kingdom work that He has already prepared for them to do before the worlds began. God has already done it! It's that simple! Share your faith and God will do the rest.
There is power in the Word of God...
And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words
fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel
was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh,
for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
1 Samuel 3:19-21
More encouragement from the story of Samuel. We see here that when we share our faith coupled with the Word of God, He will not allow those Words to fall to the ground.
Once again, we see that God does ALL the planning and preparation for those He has called to eternal life, we are merely called to execute that plan, not in our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Motivator #5
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11
As you see, I've saved the best motivation for last! We can have full confidence that our words will not fall flat, no matter how much we second guess what we said reflecting back on the conversation; no matter how few words we said; no matter if we were nervous or faltering; God sent YOU, even in your weakness, because what He set out to do through you WILL BE accomplished and will succeed for His purposes.
Just remember, YOUR story is YOUR story - a story that God wrote for you and one that He has chosen specific people to hear, to be touched by in a relatable way, through what He has done in you. Now go out and share!
Have confidence timid evangelist! For when you are weak, He is strong!
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I'm definitely a timid evangelist, you've listed some really good motivators to combat the fear. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteHi Wemi, You are very welcome! Thanks so much for visiting my blog. :-)
DeleteHi! I saw your link on the Inspire Me Monday link up. These are great motivations! I love your final thoughts, that each of us have a unique story written by God with specific people in mind to hear. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Marielle, Thank you so much for your kind words about this post.
DeleteYou are very welcome.
I so appreciated your visit!
I've found through the years that at the root of most evangelism is a long established relationship. So I continue to ask the Father to put me in the place of deepening and continuing relationships and sometimes people are ready to hear the truth because, as you say, God's done the prep work.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, Indeed, I've seen profound answers to those specific types of prayers. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteAnd thanks so much for stopping by.
This is an excellent encouragement for those of us who know we are supposed to share the good news but don't think we have the spiritual gift of evangelism! It does help me to remember that all I need to do is "bear witness" and tell the story of what God has done for me and it's the Holy Spirit's job to do the rest.
ReplyDeleteHi Kym!
DeleteIndeed and Amen!
Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate it!