Matthew 10:18-20 – On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 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.

On my account you will be brought before governors and kings

What’s the likelihood of you or I actually being brought before governors and kings? How many of you have met a king? Maybe a homecoming king, but for most of us that’s the closest thing to a king we’ll likely meet on this earth. Most of us aren’t rubbing shoulders with royalty. Some of you might actually know your governor. You might even be friends with them, but again, most of us probably don’t hang out with our governor.

We may not have daily interaction with the government of our state or nation, but we have those who govern us. We have bosses, parents, teachers, friends and relatives. These people strongly influence what we do and say. They have expectations of us, and try to help us fit in the “norm” of our societies.

But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it

In America, we are blessed to have the freedom to say what we want and to believe what we want, for the most part. But in our places of business, in our schools and sometimes even in our families, we’re not permitted to say what we believe.

Imagine this. You’re at work, and someone rushes in to tell your co-worker that her spouse has been in an accident. Her daughter is on her way to pick her up and take her to the hospital. You instinctively go to your co-worker and ask if you can pray with her. She says yes. You pray together, and your words are received with the compassion they were given. But over in the corner your boss stands looking on. He comes over after your prayer and walks your co-worker out. On his return, he calls you into his office.

You’re nervous. You know your boss has teased you about your beliefs before, but you’ve never been this bold about your faith, and you don’t know how he’ll react. He asks, “What could you say to her in a time like this?”

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.

This is your opportunity. Your chance. Are you going to chicken out or are you going to witness about the one who saved you? Are you going to be more worried about your job, or your bosses faith? In the verse above it says, “when they arrest you”, but we can also think – when they call you into their office. When we’re asked about our faith, we don’t have to worry about the words we’re going to use or saying it perfectly. Instead we can trust that the Holy Spirit will be there helping us to communicate God’s word and heart when we’re witnessing about our faith.

God is still speaking. He’s speaking through you.

Every moment is an opportunity to witness for the Lord. In the grocery store, we can let the person with cranky children and a pile of coupons go in front of us. In our families, we can reconcile with those who are frustrating and have caused us harm. Forgiving them, not because they’re sorry, but because we have a chance to respond differently, because we have been given a gift of eternal life – even though we don’t deserve it. When our children frustrate us, we can respond with patience instead of fury even though they’ve done the same thing wrong everyday this month. We have an opportunity to have the Lord speak through us by His Holy Spirit. That is if we can hold our tongue long enough to turn our thoughts, voices and hearts over to His control.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

What are you saying about God?