Throw Insecurities to the Wayside

I was minding my own business at a baseball game when the Lord picked a fight.  

It was a youth ministry activity, and I was moving around to talk with students. One change of location put me two seats away from a rough looking character to my left. I politely did a head tilt to acknowledge him and not be rude. Out of the blue, he suddenly said to me, “My girlfriend and I just got into an argument. You can see her across the outfield fence walking to the truck.” 

And that’s when the Lord picked the fight. He said, “Ask him what they were fighting about.”  

Now, I understand that baseball wasn’t around 2,000 years ago, so I figured I would inform the Lord about fan etiquette. I replied, ‘Lord, guys don’t talk about things like that at baseball games.’ 

Of course, He had a come-back and sarcastically referred to me by my ministry title… “Hey Youth and Family Ministries Pastor, ask him what they were arguing about!” 

Again, I very graciously replied that He simply didn’t understand. Guys don’t talk about those things at baseball games.  

I think we all know what really happened here—my insecurities got in the way of obeying the Lord. I missed a perfect opportunity to serve a hurting man in Jesus name. In fact, I missed an opportunity to serve the Lord Himself in that moment.  

I was relying on my own thinking and wasn’t up to the task. Maybe I feared rejection or looking stupid. What would I say after asking that first question? But that’s the problem… I was thinking more about me, myself and I. I wasn’t thinking about the man’s need or the Lord being at work in the situation.  

Jesus said in, reference to himself, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, HCSB) 

He also said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10, HCSB)

Jesus accomplished his mission through his sacrificial death and resurrection. Then, on the day He ascended to the right hand of the Father (see Acts 1:9-11 and Acts 2:32-33), Jesus passed on to the Church the mission of telling the lost about salvation available in Him.  

Jesus put it very specifically in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (HCSB)

There have been many times I missed the opportunity to bear witness to the goodness of God and the answers available through faith in Jesus and later regretted it. These times have motivated me to be a faithful witness and ambassador for Christ. Even more importantly, I’ve learned that I cannot be a witness in my own strength and wisdom.  

Though I don’t even know his name, I pray the Lord sends a faithful witness to the man who fought with his girlfriend.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that “everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself, through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20, HCSB)

Do not forget that in bearing witness to Christ, we need the help of His Spirit. It is God who makes us “competent to be ministers of a new covenant.” (see 2 Corinthians 3:4-6)

Recently, while running with a buddy, I asked him if he had any spiritual questions. He did… and I couldn’t answer them! So, I asked him a follow-up question and admitted he had stumped me! In the weeks that followed, I kept praying, thinking, and waiting for another opportunity to talk with him. A few weeks later, we were running again, and he really opened up about his life. I asked some searching questions and 45 minutes later, with tears in his eyes, he told me that when he was 20 years old, he would have beat up anyone who made him cry. The Lord was at work in the situation. And I was glad he wasn’t still 20!  

Dear Saints, God has called and appointed you to a life of significance. As personal witnesses of Christ, we have the opportunity—with the help and wisdom of the Holy Spirit—to alter the eternal destination of our friends and family. That is significant. 

If the Lord tells you to ask someone what he was just arguing about with his girlfriend, I’d take Him up on it if I were you.