I Pitched the Ball. You Missed the Catch.

As I was sitting here I was thinking about all the opportunities to share the Gospel with someone that I have missed out on.

1. When I'm in a restaurant and see the sad faced woman who's pregnant and alone. I make an excuse: "Well, here comes my food, I'll talk to her later." (ha, lame) She leaves and I don't even notice. Opportunity missed.
2. I'm in Wal Mart's parking lot. There's a homeless guy asking for money. I drop a dollar in his tin can and keep walking. I tell myself that I'm on a time crunch and I have to hurry. "I don't have time to talk to him." Opportunity missed.
3. As I'm walking through the mall I see a group of teens standing around. I feel the tug, but resist. "They'll think I'm a freak! What would I say, anyways?" Opportunity missed.

Sometimes I'm alone and I feel like I need to have a grown up with me, which is smart since I'm a teenage girl and (duh!) I'm all alone. :) Ha! But what about the times that I do have a grown up with me and I make another excuse? 

"Well, how do I start off the conversation?" 
"How do I respond to their seemingly impossible-to-answer questions?" 
"What if they reject me?" 

The hardest thing for me to do is set aside my pride, stop thinking about how they'll react or treat me, and just witness to them anyways. Why is it so hard? Why am I so afraid? 

What if God specifically placed that young woman in that booth at the restaurant, on that exact hour that I'm there, so that I'll witness to her. What if God would have saved her, through me. There I go again, making another excuse, and there she goes, heading for the door. Yep, opportunity missed.

I can only imagine what God is thinking. "I pitched the ball. You missed the catch." My, how disappointed He must be.

These are things I can't stop thinking about. What if I would have witnessed to that homeless guy? So what if he rejects me! Maybe I would have planted a seed that would later be watered by another Christian. At the moment, I tell myself he won't be willing to listen to me. He won't care. So I give him a dollar. What good is a dollar compared to salvation? It's nothing. Would I rather give the man worldly pleasure, or would I rather be used to help save his eternal life?

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"God! It's so hard! I just can't do it!"

"Why?"

"Because... what if they reject me?"

"Reject you? They won't be rejecting you, my dear. They'll be rejecting the Truth. They'll be rejecting Me. It's not about you."

"Well... what if they don't like what I have to say? What if I don't tell them what they want?"

"*chuckles* What they want? My child, it's not about telling them what they want to hear. Don't make up a false religion, or a false Me just to 'win them over'."

"But... what do I say? I don't know what to say!"

"Listen.... *pause*"

"... to what?"

"Listen. Pray. Seek Me. Ask Me what to say. Read My Word!"

"Well, I do, but when I get nervous my brain goes haywire! I can't remember a thing!"

"What is there to be nervous about, sweet one? Just pray. Ask Me for help and guidance. Call on Me and I will answer you."

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If we're unsure of what to say, or how to witness to someone, all we have to do is read the Bible! It has many "recipes" for witnessing. Do we really expect it to just come to us all of a sudden, without us having to labor over it? Maybe. Maybe God would suddenly give you wisdom in a moment when you need it, but maybe not. 

As Christians, we have to be prepared to share God's Word with anyone we come in contact with! Even with a stranger! We have to be ready! We need to put on the full armor of God and go out into the battlefield, with God as our guide, and our leader! 

I've got to stop making excuses. 
I have to stop worrying about myself.
I have to let go of all my fears.

God pitched the ball. Did you miss the catch?