To continue the thought from yesterday (Be the Light to Shine Out of Darkness), it is important that the good news, salvation and peace be proclaimed. In another place, we are told that the message is important but no one will hear the message unless someone tells them.
In our culture today, more people are talking about war than peace, violence rather than discussion, my way or no way. Where is the voice of God? We are meant to be that voice. What holds us back? Maybe it’s just being afraid of what others might think of us. When we freely offer to pray for a friend who is looking for a better job, or someone who is sick, or is going through a hard time, we are the voice of God. When we stand up for what is right, we are the voice of God. When someone asks us how we are managing when we are going through a difficult time and we answer by saying that it is through the grace of God, we are God’s voice. When a prayer is answered and we give God the credit, we are the voice of God. It doesn’t take a professional minister to be the voice of God, and it often has more power coming from the everyday believer.
After all, the professional is expected to talk about God. So, how are we doing as God’s messengers? Take a few minutes today to think about your relationship with God. What brought YOU to faith? What keeps you faithful? When do you recognize the power of God in your life? There’s an exercise you can do that might help. Draw a line on a piece of paper and put marks along the line that mark significant times in your life. You should have both happy and difficult experiences on this line and then think about when you have felt God’s presence. How do these line up? You may find that you felt God’s presence more in the difficult times than the happy. Whichever way it goes, you will now have a better idea of why God is important to you, and this will make it easier for you to share your faith with others.
Lord, you have set us on the path to be your voice in the world. Please give us the words we need and the courage to use them in whatever opportunities you give us. Amen.
