When Sharing the Gospel is not my 'Gift'

Some people have a gift for sharing how Christ died for our sins. Giving a relatable message that truly speaks to that person's heart so much that the person takes action and makes a decision to trust Christ as their Savior and follow Him for the rest of their lives. I have one such friend that is so gifted. I asked him to be a counselor at a camp I counseled at for years. This was his first week and his cabin was full of middle aged school boys, as the week went on all 14 of those young men trusted Christ as their personal savior because he was such an example of Christ's love and used his gift.

Every year I  worked at camp, week after week it seemed I would have a cabin of girls who loved the Lord and I was used to encourage them. It was always an intense week of being used by the Lord, sharing life experiences, but I it was rare that I would share Christ with a girl who had never made that decision before. I wrestled with this a lot in my life. Why did my friend have that kind of gift and I did not? What was I doing wrong? Am I not as effective in sharing Christ with others? After years of coming back to this frustration I have accepted the fact that the Lord puts me in a place to encourage believers, and help the kind of kids that I was, who are ready to grow and be challenged. It is a command to be ready to share the gospel or "the hope you have within you" at any time. I firmly believe all Christians should  be ready to share about their decision to follow Christ at any time, whether that is your 'gift' or not. One of my favorite books on this is "One Thing You Can't Do When in Heaven" By Mark Cahill.

 Before reading the book I thought that sharing your faith with kids was a cookie cutter thing. My testimony was the same to just about every person. To a point it always is, when I made that first decision, the way I tell it will always be the same, but what Cahill does is get to know the person quite well in conversation first, find out where they are in their understanding of what Christ did of them. He then shares how he came to trust the Lord as his Savior and a time that the Lord worked in his life that is relatable to them personally. Because our testimony continues to unfold every day, we struggle with new things that help us grow in the Lord. The most important thing we can do is change our mindset, ask the Lord to "restore the joy of our salvation." Let each conversation we have be lightly seasoned with excitement for the change in our lives. I could go on about the book but you get the idea. 

It is still a personal struggle with me. I have lead few to the Lord one-on-one in relation to how much I have shared my faith, but that's how the Lord has chosen to use me. I need to be more content in being an encourager, that is what this blog is for - encouragement.