The Unsatisfying World

The world is full of so many distractions and so much idolatry. Today in church, we talked about Paul and Barnabas in Acts, and the zeal that they had for the Lord and for making Him known among the nations. Even in jail, they praised and proclaimed the Word of the Lord and the Lord's saving grace. At the college worship night on Wednesday, we talked about how it is my purpose, your purpose, and the purpose of every believer to make His name known and to bring glory to Him through our lives. However, like many tasks, it can be easier said than done. We can think that we are living for the Lord because we pray and we read the Word, but if we are not reflecting who He is in us through everything we say and do, then we are not living for His purpose and following His will for our lives. We can display the character of Christ through our actions as well as through our words, but we cannot be afraid to speak the words of the Gospel and to have intentional conversations.
It can be so easy to have these conversations with our close Christian friends, but when it comes to sharing the Gospel and talking about the Lord's presence and work in our lives with strangers or acquaintances, we often fear the results of the conversation, and that can keep us from even bringing it up at all. We never know how the other person will respond to what we have to say. Most of the time, our fear comes from lack of trust in the Lord because He is actually the one speaking, not us. What we say has been planned by Him-- every word! We might think we did a terrible job of attempting to share the Gospel, but there is always a chance that God planted a seed in that person, and that even if it seems like he or she didn't like what he or she was hearing, his or her heart could be changed because our God is that good, and He can do anything He wants to do.

I think another big part of our fear that comes when we think about sharing the Gospel is that we are not looking for satisfaction and contentment in the right places. When you struggle with contentment, do you think about in what or whom you are trusting? This is where idolatry enters the picture. We so often look to the things of this world instead of to Christ. Think about this: does anyone or anything have the power or strength to fully satisfy you? We are all sinners and therefore, we can never be perfect. Being fully satisfied comes from being able to hope in something that is perfect and sovereign over everything else. God is the only One who can fully satisfy us. If you are looking for contentment, you should look to Him. Romans 12:2 says, " Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Colossians 3:2-4 says, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." If we trust Christ, He will speak through us and transform our minds to become more like Christ, but we must not put our hope in anything else other than in Him.

Our faith does not depend on what we have accomplished in our lives, and our works do not make us more special to God or a better Christian. Faith comes from fully relying on God and trusting His will for your life, regardless of the current circumstances. Whatever you are experiencing right now is temporary. All of the things in this world are temporary. Only Christ and the relationship we have with Him will satisfy us fully and eternally. The Lord casts out His perfect love on us, broken sinners who are deserving of nothing but Hell itself. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and He loves us more than anyone can ever love us, and He has given us more than anyone or anything can ever offer us. Eternal life is the ultimate gift, and it is only by the grace and mercy of our God that we are able to have this gift. During Summer Beach Project, we learned the verse Romans 6:23, which says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This verse is the one we used to learn how to share the Gospel, and it is a great one to use. But also, ultimately, God does not care what verse we use to share the Gospel. He is glorified through us no matter how we choose to share it! He loves that we desire to share it, and that we will overcome that fear and trust Him. I have so much trouble doing this, and it is definitely a process to be able to share our faith, and with the confidence of the Lord, we can. Mark 9:23 says that anything is possible for those who believe! And of course, Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

In C.S. Lewis's book Mere Christianity, he says,"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." Every Christ-follower should have this desire, and it is because we aren't made for this world! But, we are living in it, and while we are here, our purpose is to proclaim the name of the Lord and to be a light to the world through Christ. Then, we will experience the eternal life of which we are so undeserving but for which we are so thankful. I encourage you to replace your worldly fears with a fear of the Lord which allows you to fully trust and rely on Him and allow Him to work in and through you in your life.