Holy Desire

He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his harvest with him” (Psalm 126:6).

I don’t always ‘want to’ share my faith. My ‘desire to witness’ button is not always pushed. Sometimes I don’t want to share my faith, because I don’t ‘feel’ like it. The more I ignore my desire, the less I think about it. And when I keep my desire at bay, I lose the inner promptings and convictions to share my faith.

Last week my wife and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items. While my wife shopped, I stayed in the car. I could have checked my email or played some games on my phone, but I noticed some teens sitting on the curb. Then the thought entered my mind that this would be a great opportunity to share my faith with them. I didn’t feel like getting out of my car, and I didn’t feel like entering into a potentially awkward conversation with strangers.

So, where did this ‘desire to witness’ come from? It probably came because I have been participating in a weekly faith sharing class, or it may have been an answer to prayer in the form of a divine appointment. If so, the promptings would likely fade away if I ignored them, so without letting my ‘feelings’ dictate my actions, I got out of the car and begin to interact with these teens.

Do you know what happened? In only fifteen minutes, I had connected with these teens, shared my faith, and two of them prayed with me to accept Jesus as their Lord, right there on the curbside! My walk back to the car was loaded with ‘feelings’…great feelings! I was so glad that my initial feelings didn’t prevent me from missing out on this eternal blessing.

I have come to believe that our actions must precede feelings. When I act out what I know is right, regardless of how I feel, good feelings eventually follow. I think God calls it walking by faith, and this makes Him smile.

My prayerful goal is that my “want to” will remain higher than my “don’t want to.” If I have a holy desire, it can turn into a holy discipline, which will bring a holy delight!

Intentional for souls,
Tom Elie
President/Evangelist
www.oasisworldministries.org