How far would you go to share the Gospel? Not just physically, but spiritually. This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot this month. After months of seeing such poverty, oppression, and brokenness, I feel like I’ve become numb. Like it’s my subconscious’ way of protecting me from pain to keep everything at a distance instead of letting it into my heart. But this bothers me. I don’t want to feel numb. I don’t want to feel apathetic towards the lost and broken. I want God’s heart for them.
“But if I say, ‘I will not mention His word or speak anymore in His name,’ His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” –Jeremiah 20:9
This is my prayer. That God’s Word will be a burning flame in my heart that I cannot hold in. That I will feel it so intensely that I can’t help but to share it. That I will feel immense sadness for those who have no access to the Gospel. I want to feel God’s overwhelming compassion for His people that He so deeply loves and desires. I want my heart to break for the lost and hurting. I want to feel the pain of others as if it were my own.
You’re probably wondering, “Why would anyone want that?” I don’t want it just to make me a “better Christian.” I want this so that I will be brought into a deeper intimacy with the Lord. I want to be forced into a deeper dependence on God and a deeper place of prayer. I want God to be the only hope I cling to and trust in. In situations that seem hopeless, I want to be able to pray big and boldly, trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ to protect His children and hear their cries.
A couple months ago, I went to a worship conference in Northern Ireland. I went to a seminar on spirit-filled evangelism there, led by a guy who works at Bethel Church in Redding, California. He talked about how Elijah raised the little boy from the dead in 1 Kings 17:17-24 – God told Elijah to go, and he immediately obeyed. He didn’t stall or make excuses as we so often do, and his obedience led to a miracle. When Elijah prayed for the boy, he lay on top of him and cried out to God as if it were his own son. I listened to the speaker get choked up as he asked us, “friends, when are we going to start praying for the homeless man down the street as if he were our own family?” This is the love of Jesus. This is what God calls us to. His heart breaks for the lost and hurting, and ours should too.
In Romans 9:2-3, Paul says, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people…” Talk about an insanely bold statement. Can you say that? Would you rather yourself be cut off from Christ so that someone else may know Him? Honestly, I don’t think that’s true for me. Paul has such radical love and compassion. But as believers, shouldn’t we want and try to have that same love and compassion? Shouldn’t we always place others above ourselves?
So this is what I’m praying and asking God for. And I can already see the subtle ways He’s answering – it’s been as simple as meeting someone and instantly feeling His desire and pursuit of their heart, or looking beyond someone’s actions to see the pain in their heart. Are you willing to ask God to set your heart on fire for sharing the Gospel? Are you willing to ask Him to burden your heart for His beloved children? Are you willing to feel pain for others so that you may understand God’s love and compassion and be brought into deeper intimacy with Him? I am, because He’s worth it. For others to know the love and saving grace of Jesus, it’s worth it.
