Yesterday I wrote to encourage you when you feel alone and broken. I wrote to remind you that you are not the only one who struggles. Today, I write to tell you that you may be the only one. Not the only one who struggles, but the only one who can reach your neighbor, friend, family member, or colleague with the gospel.
The Great Commission is given to all of us corporately as the church, but it is also given to you individually as a follower of Jesus. When Esther was presented with an opportunity to bring help and relief to the Jewish people in her day, it was uniquely Esther’s opportunity and responsibility. Mordecai spoke these words to Esther as she wrestled with her responsibility:
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14
Esther must have felt ill-equipped for such a task. And yet, God had given her all that she needed. God had put her in the right place at the right time and God’s favor and Spirit went with her.
You may be the only person to share the good news of Jesus with a classmate or co-worker. You may literally be the only Christian they know. You could be their only hope to hear the gospel and to discover salvation through Jesus Christ.
You may feel ill-equipped. You may feel overwhelmed. You might feel scared to death.
But, regardless of how you feel, you may still be the only person to do the job.
God has uniquely placed you in some situations, in some relationships and in some circumstances to share the hope of Jesus. That’s right. YOU.
Maybe he’s even called you to go to unique places and encounter unique people with the hope of the gospel.
Like so many before you, it will be your desire that some one else will do the job. But, God has called you to do the job. He has given you the Great Commission. He has given you his Holy Spirit.
You do not feel equipped, but God has given you everything you need. And, the truth is, God is not in need of equipped people, God looks for willing hearts. He can take a shepherd and turn him into a warrior-king. He can take a slave and make him second in command over Egypt. God can cause a virgin to give birth and can raise the dead.
If God can do all of that and more, he can use you to spread his gospel and expand his kingdom.
So, get busy. You may be the only one to share hope. But, you will never be the only one in the process. God’s Holy Spirit goes with you. Jesus promised to never leave you nor forsake you. His promise is to never leave.
NEVER
And, in God’s economy, never means never. The promise of his presence is not only for those who grieve or those who are broken. He does not leave his children when they are courageous enough to share the gospel. He goes with all of his children to share his good news.
He will go with you too. So,
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash
