But, I am Frightened!

Background Proverbs 1:1-19 KJV

BUT, I AM FRIGHTENED!

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7)

Teachers look for teachable moments. True teachers are also teachable themselves.

A deep reverence for Who God is, generally fosters trust among those we lead. Personal confidence is not always the best indicator of being adequately prepared to speak, or to lead someone to the Lord. Faith, however, is.

When just a teenager, my parents were missionaries in South Africa. In those days we pumped water for irrigation from a stream to a cement reservoir. During dry times, someone had to start the pump. This became my dad’s assignment for me.

I was apprehensive, but still wanted to do it. My dad carefully demonstrated how to hold the spring-loaded handle on the heavy flywheel. Having experienced this himself, he warned that if the engine backfired, it could cause injury. That lesson helped prepare me for years in a machine shop.

We do our best sharing when faith appears weak. Walking by faith in Him, we can hold someone else’s hand to lead them to Christ!

An older priest named Eli remembered this. When Samuel said Eli had called, he wisely told him to let the Lord to speak, with a willingness to listen.

It took imprisonment for Paul and Silas to discern a jail keeper’s fear, and lead he and his family to the Lord.

—Paul Wilson

Record God’s dealings with your own heart, and you will have a ready arsenal for your witnessing experiences.

© 2008 by Wesleyan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Wesleyan Publishing House.