Not Bold Enough

So I really tried to focus on having a Sabbath day yesterday because of all the time I have to help out with my dad at home every day. I went to church...did some window shopping then decided that instead of going home to read the Word, I would go to Starbucks because 1) I might have an opportunity to talk to someone there and maybe share my faith and 2) so I would actually do my reading. The first option was based on a lot of what God is teaching me and how I need to be bold for my Lord.

So I grabbed my grande soy Chai latte and went outside to find a table. There weren't a lot of people there so it was easy to find a place to sit. However, I sat facing away from the Starbucks because in all honesty I didn't want to be distracted by people watching. While I was sitting there reading through the book of Hebrews, I heard a conversation happening behind me. A guy was talking to two women who were sitting outside and sharing about how his dad back in Florida had a stroke recently and he was going to visit him. However, he didn't want to really go. People were encouraging him to go so that he wouldn't have any regrets. My first thought was this guy is going through the same kind of thing that I am. I stopped reading and began praying fervently for him as he continued his conversation with the Lord.

God was opening a door to share and love on this guy who I'm guessing by some of his language that he was not a believer. I told God first let me finish reading the chapter I was on then I would approach him. When I finished the chapter, he wasn't there. So began to wrap up my things and made my way to the car. I got into the car and put everything in its place. After I started the car, I looked up to see he had returned to his table. Now my dilemma. Do I shut off the car and go to talk to him or do I just drive off? I went back and forth what seemed like a hundred times in the matter of seconds, and finally decided to drive home.

The whole way home, I knew that I should have talked to the guy. I knew that I could have possibly made a huge difference in his life. But yet I was a coward...too selfish to stop where I was in reading and go love on this child of God. Too prideful to shut down the car and get out. Since then, I've been praying for boldness. I need it desperately not only for myself but for others who don't know Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." I hope that next time I will have the boldness to proclaim God's love to those who don't yet understand their need for a Savior. I pray also that if you get an opportunity to share God's love with others, you don't talk yourself out of it.