“But Peter and John replied, ‘Do you think God wants us to obey you (the religious leadership) rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard." Acts 4:19-20
Peter and John could not be silenced. Despite the threat of being beaten, imprisoned and death, they had simply witnessed too much to deny it all now. ~And apparently so had the religious leaders as they asked themselves, “What should we do with these men? We can’t deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.” Acts 4:16
2000 years later, worldwide, this equation is the same: Christ-followers that have simply witnessed too much and cannot stay silent vs Christ-haters that are intent on silencing them/us.
A personal story: Friday late afternoon, we Cleary’s happened into a SoCal coffee shop in to escape the rain and hail outside. Shaun and I had just sat down with our coffee in hand when I overheard a woman behind me exclaim, “I know there is a god. I know I can talk with god. But I don’t know much else, and my life is so messed up.”
It was less than a minute prior that I had just opened my bible for some personal “filling”. My chair sat 2-3 ft. away from this woman’s voice, and as I sat, I heard another female voice answer the 1st, giving me a pit in my stomach.
My heart then began beating quite hard as I looked up wide-eyed at my Shaun, but he was busy checking e-mails and had completely missed what I had unintentionally overheard. But God had heard, and quickly spoke to me words to this effect: “Betsy, DO SOMETHING NOW… I’m right here with you”. ~~My mind started to race, “What to say (if I do), Lord?...What if this other women is trying to convert this young searcher to something other than knowing Jesus, and makes a scene if I say something contrary to her agenda?...What if the young seeker reacts poorly and I’m made a fool in this capacity-filled coffee shop?...etc. etc.”.
Right then, Jer. 29:11-14 came to my mind, and I felt prompted to write it down on an index card. ~So I did, adding “Jesus” in parentheses after every reference to God. “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord (Jesus), plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me (Jesus) and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I(Jesus) will be found by you…and will bring you back from captivity.” ~~~Then I prayed for the opportunity to say “hi”, explain my odd actions, briefly share my personal ‘God-quest story’ and hand the woman this index card…all in under 60 sec.
White knuckled, I prayed, stood, smiled, and with the love of God, shared my heart and handed the card to this young woman. And to my amazement (and relief) both smiled widely, and later, stopped by the table I’d relocated to and thanked me.
Why share this story? I don’t’ really know. These kinds of stories happen to Shaun and me kind of regularly. ~Perhaps we share this to be a source of encouragement? Folks tend to assume that because we look confident and we do share our faith regularly, that when God prompts us to “GO”, it’s always easy. And this is simply not the case. But when God says “Go!” what we have learned is to go directly to prayer, because in doing so, we allow God to be the spokesperson through us (leaning not to our own talents), entrusting Him with the process and with the outcomes … because He cares SO MUCH.
Let’s let our light shine this week… How can we remain silent when we’ve witnessed so much? ~Our world is so desperate for what only He can offer.
Much love,
Shaun and Betsy
