I often have doubted my ability to articulate the gospel properly and make disciples. No matter how many times I step out to evangelize, I am fearful I may fail to share the gospel fully. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul directly addresses these doubts by reminding the reader it is God who gives the growth. We are not to worry about being the most convincing or articulate when sharing the gospel, knowing God is the one who brings forth saving faith.
On our trip to Utah, these same doubts troubled me. I was worried about what I was to say, especially when starting the conversation. I prayed that the Lord would present me with opportunities to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ found in the Scriptures, regardless of my doubts and fears. The Lord was merciful and allowed me to have several challenging conversations about faith.
The most impactful one was with a guy I approached in a park. We talked about faith, grace and works, [along with Mormon beliefs about] eternal marriage and priesthood authority. I got his number and was able to have a follow-up conversation over lunch. Through my conversations with him, my heart became more and more burdened. There were so many things that he would agree with me on, yet I knew that he didn’t see the full picture. It was honestly really discouraging. I wanted so badly for him to know the true and living Christ.
Since meeting with him, the Holy Spirit often has groaned within me, causing me to pray fervently for his salvation. This is the encouraging truth that I believe the Lord is revealing to me from my experiences in Utah. God places people upon our hearts so that we can pray fervently for his saving grace to be granted to them.
What joy it is to realize that salvation is solely from the Lord and that we can go to him asking for it. I take great encouragement from this knowing that if God can grant me saving faith, then surely, he could for anyone, even my friend I met in Utah.
Tim Laughbaum, a student at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, served on a Go Now Missions Special Impact outreach team in Utah.
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