Below is a short article written by Francis Chan a Pastor in California. He shares about some of His personal struggles in living the Christian life. His purpose is to encourage all of us to live out our faith and share our faith, especially when it seems tough.
It has been a long time since I have written anything. I have spent most of my days developing new friendships and trying to explain to them their need for Jesus.
I wish I could tell you a bunch of stories of lives that have changed as a result.
I wish I could tell you that hundreds have repented and are now serving the Lord faithfully.
Instead, I’m pretty sad as very few of my new friends are ready to ditch their lives to follow Jesus. Some are not convinced they need to repent. Others are not convinced He is worth it.
The good news is that I regularly see God do supernatural things (too many stories to write out).
I expected these miracles to result in conversions, but now I understand what Jesus meant when He said, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)
Jesus never promised revival; in fact, He told us to expect the opposite (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Even when people saw the supernatural, it usually didn’t lead to repentance (Luke 10:13).
What Jesus did promise was that we would have His presence with us as we made disciples (Matthew 28:20).
This I have definitely witnessed. Supernatural answers to prayer never get old.
Like most speakers/pastors, I like to share about conversions and victories! But by only sharing those stories, it may make people think that something is wrong if they don’t see a lot of fruit in their efforts.
Maybe this post is a strange word of encouragement for those who have been sharing Jesus and not seeing much result. We may not often see repentance, but we do experience God being with us, and we do enjoy the peace in knowing we tried.
And that makes it all worth it.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58