Speak

I am not, by nature, a public speaker.  My personality is a little reserved, often shy, and I don't usually like to be in front of a group of people...I definitely prefer the background to the forefront.  I was the one in high school who spent days fretting an upcoming speech or presentation.  The very thought of having to speak in front of my teacher and my peers was enough to make me sick to my stomach.  Quite ironically, I am now a missionary.  There are many different kinds of missionaries- I happen to be of the church-planting, ministry-building variety, which means that speaking is a huge part of my everyday life.  Has the nature of my personality changed so drastically since I was a teenager?  Not really.  Do I like to speak in public now?  Not exactly.  But there IS a difference, and learning it transformed my life.  God can and wants to speak for us.  He wants to do the work through us...we just have to trust Him AND open our mouths.

When we know Christ personally, we understand that He would never lead us to minister to someone without giving us the words to say to that person.  Most of the time we don't know what to say at all, but when we trust the Lord to speak and then we open our mouths, we are often very surprised by what comes out.  When the Lord speaks, the right words always come, and people are touched and moved by God's love for them.  I have been thinking through all of this over the last several days because one of our assignments in preparation for our mission trip to Belize was to prepare a personal testimony to share.  The people on our missions team had never shared a personal testimony before, and they were all very nervous about it.  I shared with them about allowing God to speak through you...when we obey and open our mouths, He gives us the words to say.  They were all pretty skeptical, and I will admit that I was skeptical too, when I first tried it.  Once you experience it personally, your confidence in who God is grows, and the next time you are led to speak, you are much more likely to trust God for the outcome.  But until you experience it firsthand, it can a be a little hard to believe.  So, I encouraged our team to pray and trust that the Lord would give them the right words to say.  Because they had no other choice, they tried it...and were AMAZED at the results.  Each testimony was unique, a personal story which had a strong message of Hope and Truth woven into the plot.  The message that each one preached through there testimony was one that would touch just about everyone on this planet, and they were amazed at the words God gave them to share.

God's provision is always so far above all we could ask or imagine, and even I was in awe of the way He came through.  I didn't want to say, "I told you so!"  It was enough to understand that God was in our midst, speaking and ministering FOR us.  All we had to do was be obedient to open our mouths!  One of my favorite songs is called "Speak for Me" and it is sung by Jaci Velasquez.  The lyrics are my prayer each and every time I am called on to speak or minister.  I still don't like to speak in public all that much...but most of the time it's not even me speaking.  I just open my mouth, and God provides the words!

Lyrics to "Speak For Me":
What have I to offer
to a world in need
yet for some unknown reason
you have chosen me
Lord, you've set my journey
you've prepared the way
still I'm desperate for the words to say
all I am is willing
all I have is in your hands

Speak for me
this my plea
say the words I can't express
sing for me
a heavenly melody
that the people would be blessed
speak for me
Every brief encounter
that you send my way
is a chance to show the love you gave me
I see their troubled faces
a hunger deep inside
Lord, I depend on you to touch their lives
light what burns within me
let your truth shine through my life

Speak for me
this my plea
say the words I can't express
sing through me
a heavenly melody
that the people will be blessed
speak for me, sing for me, set me free
and they will see your holiness
speak for me
'cause your love will lead them on to heaven's gate
where they can look upon your face
light what burns within me
let your truth shine through my life
You're all I have to offer
to a world in need