Lighting Up Our City Video 1: Relational EvangelismSample

There is this strange urge that grips me twice a year. Maybe some of you will understand. Every July and December, I have to empty every closet in my house.

Am I the only one?

I wake up and my brain yells, “Dump everything off of every shelf into a giant pile, sort it, then put it back!” So, I empty every closet…

And then I run out of steam. My house looks like a Cat-5 hurricane blew through it, and there I sit on the couch, overwhelmed by the mess. Eventually—and my husband is grateful—it gets put away neatly but only because I force myself to do it.

I do that with God too. I get a good idea, decide God’s fine with it, and off I go… until I run out of steam. Want to know why that happens?

I didn’t talk to God about my great idea. I just ran ahead in my strength. That doesn’t get me very far. With Him, I can do everything He calls me to do. Without Him, I’m sitting on my couch staring at the mess I’ve made.

It’s true that Jesus calls us to tell others about Him. It’s our primary job. But it’s also true that we don’t take that instruction and start running. Why? Because He knows who we need to talk to. He knows who’s ready to hear. If we race ahead of Him, we might miss someone we’re supposed to talk to, or we might start “scattering seed” on “ground” that hasn’t been prepared. Everything needs to happen in God’s time.

Our own attitudes and thoughts have to be right as well. We need to be sure we’re telling people about Jesus because we love Him and we love them, not because we’re personally getting something out of it. It’s not about us… it’s about others.

I want to know I’m doing God’s work according to God’s plan. I’m guessing you do too. Let’s agree to pray each day that God will use our actions and words His way and in His time.

By Jodie Bailey