“But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19-20
As Jesus sends out the disciples to be His witness He tells them something that is a bit disturbing. He tells them that they will be arrested. It is not “if you are arrested”, but “when you are arrested”.
In America, and many other countries in the world, a believer in Jesus has the freedom to be His witness publicly. But, just like many other countries, that freedom is slowly being taken away.
Throughout the Bible it talks about how closer to the end most people will work against God. Satan will do more and more to stop all believers from being His witness. Hatred against Christians will rise more and more. The time will come when you will be arrested for being His witness.
Already in America people can get in trouble with the law for speaking out against various sinful practices that God and the Bible condemn. In public schools, teachers cannot talk to a student about their belief in Jesus, unless the student starts the conversation first. More and more examples of this is occurring in America and the rest of the world.
When you are arrested, Jesus states not to worry about what to say. You are to be led by His Holy Spirit in what to say. If you try to argue for your rights in your own words, you will fail. The world does not care about your rights, because you are offending them with the message of Jesus.
You are to lean on the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the words to speak. As you speak, you will continue to be His witness in places that you could not witness, unless you were arrested. Maybe, like Joseph, you need to be in prison to touch someone’s life there.
Do not be surprised at the trouble that is coming against Christians. Allow God to use you to be His witness. Do not be afraid, but trust God. Jesus has been there and done that, He knows what to say and do in every situation.
I pray that God will give you strength to be His witness; that God will give you His peace that He is in control; that God will fill you with His Holy Spirit; that God will give you the words to speak; and that God will use you to build His kingdom daily.
Leave a Reply