Something I’ve been thinking about lately is what ministry will look like for me after the Race. What I mean by that is, I want to continue to live an intentional life that looks different. I want people to feel what I’ve felt, to experience God in new ways, to be so convinced of what He’s done for them that they live their lives differently.
Now that’s all well and nice, but let’s think realistically here. I live in a broken country. I live in a country where truth is an abstract, a simple matter of opinion. “What’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me” or “I’m just going do what I feel is right”. You can tell someone verses from the Bible all day long, but if they don’t believe the Bible is true, it’s not going to have an impact on their lives. People don’t believe in God, or if they do they don’t walk in an intimate relationship with Him, because they don’t think He’s personal. They haven’t felt a personal experience with Him, they’ve heard Christians spout out stories about Him, or even try to live such a “godly” life that they seem pretentious and out of touch.
I think the answer to this is really simple, let’s make ministry personal! God is a personal God! He cares about everyone deeply and individually. He longs to speak with us and do life with us every single day. One of the biggest things I’ve learned on the Race is how to listen to God’s voice, and it’s been life changing. So why not use that to spread his love? Why not tell other people about Him through Him? Instead of telling someone about what we believe is true, something they could dismiss easily as being “true for us, but not them” why not tell them something they can’t argue with, something God says about them personally? When you talk to people, ask God what they need to hear. Maybe it’s a specific word of encouragement. Maybe God will give you a word or picture to share with them. People can’t discard something that is personally about them, and even if they don’t receive it well, take joy in knowing you were obedient to what God has called you to do.
“Hey, God wanted me to tell you this…”
God often uses others to verbally confirm things I know He’s already saying to me. So how cool would it be if someone came to know Him deeper because I verbally confirmed something the Holy Spirit was already saying to them? Of course I’m not saying never use the Bible or Bible stories to share about God,and I’m for sure not saying don’t try to live a life that’s pleasing to God, but I think sometimes we over complicate it. Sometimes you just have to listen and step out in faith. Sometimes people just need to know God is personal.
