I’ve had many experiences of sharing Jesus with people at schools, on planes, and on tennis courts. Some friends think I’m a natural-born evangelist. But I’m not! I find the hardest thing is choosing to open my mouth. Once I do, the Lord graciously gives me the words.

To me, there are not many joys comparable to that of leading someone to Christ. It’s thrilling and exhilarating.  May we all continually ask the Lord to give us opportunities to share His “good news of great happiness” (Luke 2:10).

In this article, my friend Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, provides some encouragement for us to experience the happiness of extending Christ’s gospel to those we meet. Greg is a guy who lives consistently with his words. —Randy Alcorn

Let’s imagine you are out for a walk one night around your neighborhood when you suddenly hear people screaming. Startled, you look over your shoulder and see a house with flames leaping from the windows and roof. Someone out front of the house cries out, “There’s someone in there!” Let me ask you, if you were to just keep on walking without giving a passing thought to those in such terrible danger, would that be wrong? At the very least, wouldn’t you pull out your phone and dial 9-1-1? Even more, wouldn’t you try to find a way into that burning house to rescue that person inside? To do nothing would be outright criminal.

In the same way, however, we walk by people—men and women we know or total strangers—who are without Christ and don’t do a thing to help them. We don’t even try to initiate a conversation about our faith. We just keep walking. And to be blunt, a fate even worse than a house fire awaits those who reject the offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. It is eternal fire. Eternal separation from God.

The last thing God wants is to send any man or woman—deeply loved by Him and made in His very image—to this place called Hell. That’s why He sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to die a perfect death on the cross for our sins, and then to rise from the dead.

You might protest, “God could never use someone like me!” Actually, He can and He will if you will let Him. It could even happen today—before this day is over. He won’t force you to share your faith, but He may very well prompt you. And when you take that step of faith, He will empower and use you. Yes, you.

I want you to discover the adventure of being used by God, especially in this area of telling others about Jesus. God says that He is looking for people He can “show Himself strong on behalf of” (2 Chronicles 16:9, NKJV). He is searching for someone who will simply say, “Use me, Lord!” Would you be that person? If so, a wonderful adventure awaits you.

I want to let you in on a little surprise: Sharing your faith can be both exciting and—believe it or not—fun! As Psalm 126:6 reminds us, “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (NIV). Jesus told us there is joy in Heaven over every sinner who comes to repentance (see Luke 15:7). So if there is joy in Heaven upon hearing the news of a conversion, there certainly should be joy in having a role in it.

Next to personally knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, the greatest joy I know of is leading others to Christ and watching them grow spiritually. And you can do that, too. It should be a joyful, happy thing to tell others about your relationship with God and explain how they can have one, too. I have found that the happiest Christians are the evangelistic ones.

Yes, there is a happiness we are missing out on if we’re not sharing our faith. The apostle John wrote that his personal joy was made complete by sharing the message of Christ (see 1 John 1:4). The believers I know who make a habit of sharing the Gospel are truly happy people.

There have been so many times when I have felt drained and exhausted, both physically and mentally. I have even felt like my spiritual gas tank was close to empty. But then, when I started to share the Gospel with someone, or stopped thinking about myself and focused on another’s needs and shared some truth from God’s Word, I was replenished in every way. I started on empty and ended on full. Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed” (NLT).

So here’s the bottom line: What’s your excuse for not sharing? Clearly, God could reach people without us. He could send angels down every street in the world with megaphones, declaring the Gospel. Instead, however, He has chosen to work through us. In fact, He almost seems to go out of His way to find the most unlikely candidates to accomplish His divine purposes.

You might say, “I’m not qualified. I’m not gifted or talented.” Do you want to know a little secret? You are just the person God is looking for. He delights to use people who aren’t necessarily self-confident. Why? Because when God does something amazing through them, He is the one who gets the glory, as He should. No, you may not feel qualified or “ready.” But God isn’t looking for ability as much as He is availability. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called!

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