My husband and I had the sudden opportunity to attend a conference focused on relational healing and forgiveness between former enemies. Though I’d love to share more details about what happened at the camp (it was a truly powerful, profound experience), I will instead share what the Lord taught me through it:
There were multiple times I tried to leverage opportunities to share about my hope in Christ. I would begin a conversation, then get interrupted before I could get to what I wanted to say. Or I would beeline towards someone to say something I believed important and necessary to share in that moment, but someone would intercept me to talk about something else. I began to grow frustrated, confessing this to God and pointing out to Him (as though He didn’t already know) that I was trying to be faithful and make the most of every opportunity.
He gently, graciously assured me that He already knew this. That He saw my heart. But His vision was much, much bigger than mine. Though there were no opportunities to explicitly share my faith, God accomplished what He wanted to at the conference. His will was done, the groundwork laid, the Gospel preached through ideas of forgiveness and grace:
- Former enemies miraculously became close friends,
- Men and women, through tears, confessed their brokenness and desire for healing,
- People forgave one another for the deaths of friends and family members.
I was so short sighted and proud, I thought the only way to see fruit during the conference would be to explicitly share my beliefs. And though this is a crucial next step, it wasn’t the first step. God is moving in hearts in His perfect timing. He wants His will to be done more than I ever could!
Through this experience, God expanded my mustard seed of faith. He reminded me that it isn’t up to me to “save” people. Though He uses those who are willing, it is up to Him to change hearts. His timing is perfect, His ways are higher than mine, and I am growing in my belief that He can move mountains… in His way.