The Whisper

After hearing the whisper of the Holy Spirit beckoning me to come to Him, I responded to that call and became a Christian in my early twenties.  What I had learned about the love of Jesus from a dedicated Sunday school teacher in seventh grade finally came to fruition later in life.

As a new believer, I led several of my closest friends to the Lord after they witnessed the change God had made in me.  Where once I had been lost and broken, I now carried a smile on my face and the message of redemption in my heart.  After hearing the good news that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, those whom I had been witnessing to accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Before leaving my apartment one day, I remember one of them saying, “I don’t have to look up to you any longer.  I’ve got what you’ve got.”  He was referring to the freedom he felt from the burden of sin.  It was not me he was exalting, but the One who now lived within him—the same Spirit he had seen at work in my life.  He, too, had heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit calling his name and convicting him of his sins.

He was filled with joy because of his encounter with the loving God who delivered him from the bondage of sin.  He had experienced the new birth and was born again.  Like me, the weight of the sins he had carried was lifted from his shoulders.  He could breathe freely because God had saved his soul.  No longer did he live under condemnation for his past life.  He was set free and experienced complete victory the day Jesus became his Savior.

Romans 8:1 declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

God gave me many opportunities to share His grace and forgiveness with others, both in groups and one-on-one conversations.  Those who accepted Jesus as their Savior were transformed in a moment when they surrendered their lives to God.

God’s Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).  When we share the good news that Jesus, God’s Son, gave His life on the cross for our sins, that message—the seed of salvation planted in a person’s heart—will one day bear fruit.  I believe God often sends other Christians to water that seed with His Word.  Then, sometime in the future, another believer may share the message of Christ’s love and reap the harvest of a soul that has been longing for the true and lasting peace that only God can provide.

The truths I shared from God’s Word may one day be brought back to remembrance by the Holy Spirit to those with whom I shared Jesus.  In this way, God’s Word never returns void.  God works in mysterious ways, performing wonders beyond our understanding.  Many who seem indifferent today may one day respond to the whisper of the Holy Spirit, repent, and come to Jesus as He gently moves upon their hearts.

I share these thoughts because I do not want you to become discouraged when someone refuses to give their heart to the Lord after you have shared the gospel with them.  The Holy Spirit is the One who draws people to God—we do not.  Christians are simply vessels through whom the Lord speaks.  We cannot save anyone; we can only share the truth of God’s Word and then trust the Lord to do what only He can do.

We should never become overzealous or self-righteous in our witness, as such attitudes can drive people away from the truth.  Our desire should be to help those who are searching for answers find them, not to repel them.  We must be sensitive to what God wants us to say to those who are lost.  We should always pray that God would place a guard over our mouths so that we speak only what He desires, rather than speaking from pride or appearing holier than others.  In doing so, we become faithful instruments through whom His love, grace, and truth can be revealed.

Written by,

Papa Boyd