I am often afraid of witnessing. Not just to strangers, but to people I don’t know well enough to understand where they are in their faith-walk. Bullied relentlessly for years as a child, I still tremble at the thought that I might not be liked if I say something wrong.
I’ve heard the argument that when we see a movie or TV show we love we are eager to share that, so why are we not more eager to share the Good News of Christ? Okay, I should be but what if...? In an age when expressing one’s religion is not politically correct, it only fuels my angst about proclaiming my faith.
So passages like this from Ezekiel encourage me. God placed the words not only in the prophet’s mouth, but in his “system”. Ezekiel digested them, literally and figuratively. They were in him so they were readily available. He knew what to say. And he let the reactions to what he said fall on God’s shoulders. The prophets are great examples of having the obedience to speak out and letting God handle the rest.
Today, we have Scripture and the Holy Spirit to “put words in our mouths”. We can call up verses on our phone apps in a few seconds. We can memorize passages that touch our hearts and highlight them in whatever translation speaks to us.
No excuses. May we be more like Ezekiel and open our mouths to speak of the great Truth of our Lord’s perfect love, mercy, and grace.
Lord, forgive me when I think more of how people will react to me than obeying your command to go out and tell others of your amazing love. Open my lips and let me proclaim your name, as Psalm 51:15 states. Amen.
Go Deeper — Spread peanut butter, butter or jam over a piece of bread or on a cracker. Next, write in it “God loves” with a knife’s edge or toothpick. Now eat it and remind yourself that, like Ezekiel, God gives you the ability to speak about that amazing grace and mercy to others.
Photo Credit: Braden Collum