How to Face Rejection When Witnessing for Jesus

Over the past couple weeks, I have encountered such amazing experiences with God and they have inspired me to keep on saying "Yes!" to God when He calls me to do something with wholehearted devotion and utmost obedience because I know that God has some surprises in store every time He calls us to do something for the glory of His Name.

Obedience to God's will is, in itself, already a courageous step of faith and a show of humility as we let God move us where the Holy Spirit leads and do the tasks that He has set for us.

All this we do for God as a selfless sacrifice and out of our love for Him because He has promised to sustain us throughout the whole mission and provide for all our needs.

For many Christians, there are times when we hesitate to obey the will of God because there is so much uncertainty about the outcome. We spew out different excuses like we have much preparation and training to do before we can obey God.

But the thing is, we do not need special degrees in theology or divinity; we do not need to have undergone intense training and scrutiny to obey the will of God. All we need is faith that God will work in and through us and the heart to do His will.

Another excuse that we Christians make is having to face rejection and that is what I want to focus on this article. Many Christians hesitate from witnessing or sharing Jesus and the gospel to their friends, family, neighbors, and even completely random strangers because of the fear of being put down by others.

But let me share some of the things that I have learned throughout the past couple weeks where I was immersed into the mission field for the first time.

One of the things that I have learned is that even before we arrive at our destination, God has been and is already at work in the lives of the people that we will encounter during the course of our mission trip.

According to Philippians 2:13, "...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." God has already been preparing the harvest beforehand so that we will be the ones to reap it.

Hosea 6:11 says, "Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed." God has set the hearts of those people to hear the gospel and He has been preparing them for the time that they will receive the good news.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus spoke to His disciples and said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field."

The harvest is ready and is ripe for the picking (John 4:35) but the problem is that only few people are going into the fields to reap the harvest.

There are still so many people out there who have not heard the gospel and have not heard about Jesus who offers them eternal life and an abundant life filled with meaning and purpose.

Think about those people for a minute and think about how we can help them as Christians to know Jesus. Let us set the thought in our minds that if we do not go to them, they would not hear about Jesus or if they have heard about Jesus, maybe they have not accepted Him yet.

And as we continue to share more about Jesus that they would love Him more and more in their hearts as we show how personal He is with us and how much He has changed us, made us whole, given us peace, and turned our lives around.

It is a great privilege to be God's fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9). It brings great joy when people receive Christ into their hearts and experience a wonderful transformation.

It fills our hearts with gladness seeing how God moves people and how He uses us as vessels to advance His kingdom and it also brings joy in God's heart that His work is being fulfilled (John 4:36).

Remember God is already at work in the lives of people, He is preparing hearts to be open and to hear His Word and His gospel, but He needs workers to go boldly and reap the harvest that He has prepared.

So our job is simply to share the gospel. If we hesitate to go, then God will simply use someone else but we would be losing an extraordinary opportunity from God and missing out on the experience.

I can tell you that after the mission trip, my faith in God has grown because I have seen Him make ways where we were at a dead-end. I have seen Him open up different possibilities for us to share the gospel and He even provided us with the right place and the right people to help.

When we pray to God according to His will or when we have no idea where He wants to lead us, He will answer; the Holy Spirit will lead us accordingly.

Do not be afraid or ashamed in sharing Jesus and the gospel to anyone even if they reject you or the gospel because as 1 Corinthians 3:6 says, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow."

The last part of that verse is the most crucial and significant because it tells us that the results are not up to us but they are in God's hands.

Whether people accept, reject, or ignore us and the gospel, our job is simply to share and make the gospel and Jesus known to the world, the rest is up to God.

So take heart and do not be discouraged when people reject the gospel because as I have learned being part of the Campus Crusade for Christ, success in witnessing (article source: http://www.cru.org/training-and-growth/classics/transferable-concepts/be-a-fruitful-witness/06-success-in-evangelism.htm) is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.