Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2 (New Living Translation)
We never know when opportunity will arise to share the Gospel. Charis Bible College student Tanya House discovered that truth during her missions trip to Colombia. “On Friday morning, I was asked to teach on the baptism of the Holy Spirit during my scheduled time at the girls’ home on Monday. I was not prepared for that. I was planning to teach about who we are in Christ. All my notes and scripture references on the Holy Spirit were at home in Colorado!”
As the day drew closer, Tanya felt frazzled. With all the ministry and travel time, she hadn’t been able to study like she wanted. “I didn’t realize how little free time we would have. Soon it was Sunday night, and I couldn’t sleep. I kept trying to rehearse what to say, but all I really did was worry. At one point, I became so frustrated, I burst into tears.” Tanya had forgotten God’s promise in Matthew 10:
Don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time.[20] For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Matthew 10:19b-20 (NLT)
“Nothing seemed to be going right Monday morning,” Tanya recalled. “I never finalized my outline, we had to stop for gas, traffic was horrible, and we got to the center an hour behind schedule. By the time we’d finished with the music and skits, I only had ten minutes to preach. I kept reminding myself that God was faithful and that He could redeem the time, but it was hard not to be anxious.”
Tanya didn’t realize how deeply the Word of God had been implanted in her heart at Charis. When she began speaking, the Holy Spirit took over and worked mightily in the heart of each girl present. When the invitation was given, four girls came forward for salvation, and thirty-four asked to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “I couldn’t believe God’s faithfulness that day! Every girl but one received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. And as the team ministered individually, several were slain in the Spirit. One girl was even delivered of demonic activity. It was an amazing time of healing and restoration. All I could do was cry, but these weren’t tears of frustration!” They were tears of joy!
Tanya learned that day that God doesn’t need our brilliance. He doesn’t need our strategies or carefully laid plans. He just needs our willingness. “We are the hands and feet of Christ. God needs our participation for miracles and ministry to happen. He needs us to be yielded vessels that He can use to bring His kingdom to earth. When we learn to lay our lives and agendas down, He can use us beyond what we ask or think!” (Eph. 3:20).
