“On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” Acts 16:13-14
Have you ever realized that sometimes, witnessing can be accomplished better through our daily lives than our words? My husband struggled for years with the assurance of his salvation. Added to his uncertainty was the constant badgering from me for him to express his security. When he failed to do so, I would inundate him with various modes of presentations of the gospel. In turn, not only was he miserable, so was I.
After years of such attempts, one day, as I was doing my daily Bible reading, I came across today’s verses. God impressed on me that it wasn’t my responsibility to assure my husband of his salvation or to prompt him to receive Christ. It was God’s responsibility to open my husband’s heart, just as He had Lydia’s.
My responsibility was to live in front of my husband as is described in 1 Peter 3:1-2: “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”
It freed me from a lot of frustration; it also freed my husband from a lot of my manipulation. In time, God did bring him to the point that he knew the assurance he longed to experience. And I learned in the process that sometimes our actions really do speak louder than our words!
Father, thank You for sharing in Your Word examples of how You draw people to Christ. Let us be wise enough to follow the examples You’ve laid out before us. Amen.
Take action
As I’ve heard it said, share the gospel an often as God gives you the opportunity… and if necessary, use words!