When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. – Psalm 94:19
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. – James 1:2-3
Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. – Nehemiah 8:10
The Bible is full of verses about joy, even in the face of adversity. Yet sadly, some Christians have such a negative outlook on life that it actually hinders their ability to share their faith in Christ.
On a recent Share Life Today, John Sorensen, president of Evangelism Explosion, stressed the importance of Christians maintaining a positive and external perspective to best demonstrate God’s love to the world. John said,
“Life isn’t always a bed of roses. Sometimes it can be full of thorns. What matters is your reaction to those thorns. If you’re going through a hard time, is that your focus? If it is, then you can bet you’ll stay there a while. But if your focus is on the Lord, in the midst of life’s storms, you can keep the faith. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount that, ‘where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’. If your treasure is Jesus, your load will be lighter. You’ll be able to run the race set before you without dwelling on how hard life can be. And that kind of faith is contagious. People want to be around a positive person. A positive Christian is one who will lead others to Jesus! Adjust your focus to the Lord and finish well.”
Remembering that God has forgiven your sins through Jesus Christ is such joyous news! If you’d like to encourage your listeners with John’s daily insights, consider adding Share Life Today to your station’s lineup, if you haven’t yet done so. Also, the Evangelism Explosion website provides dozens of free witnessing resources that are perfect for your audience. Please let us know if we can partner to help in your mission to share the Good News.
