Choose the Opportunity to Slow Down

This is the last post in a six-part series, 6 Barriers to Sharing Your Faith—And How to Overcome Them, taken from the book, Lit Up with Love: Becoming Good-News People in a Gospel-Starved World by Derwin L. Gray. It’s based on Lifeway Research and a framework created by Ken Boa as featured in his book, Conformed to His Image (with a change in Barrier #5 from A Barrier of Isolation to Derwin Gray’s A Barrier of Shame, which we dive into in this post). Click here to start reading at the beginning. (Don’t worry, each post takes about 2-3 minutes to read.)

According to Gray, these barriers aren’t walls; they’re invitations. When you’re lit up with love, you know that barriers are opportunities to press deeper into Christ and rely on the Holy Spirit’s power.

The Barrier of Time

Many of us feel we barely have the energy or margin to get through our busy days, much less prioritize relationships and conversations with people who don’t know Jesus. I’ve heard it said that “BUSY is an acronym for Being Under Satan’s Yoke.” Our modern age is designed to make us busy and tired. As one writer warns:

Being busy is not a badge of honor and we must reverse this dangerous cultural phenomenon by resisting the urge to brag about how busy we are. The busy brag is pervasive.

But we are not doomed to an endlessly busy life. We can choose to slow down, to be more present to Jesus, ourselves, and other people. When we prioritize Jesus and his Kingdom, we increasingly find our time shaped by what matters most. We notice what is unnecessary—what is about our pressures rather than God’s priorities—and we began to cut out those things. For example, I’ve chosen to limit my time on social media. I’m happier. I have less anxiety. I’m more present to my wife and children. And I have more time to read and engage with lost people.

If being worn down by busyness is sabotaging you from joining Jesus on mission, I encourage you to choose the opportunity to slow down. What would it look like if you let Jesus shape your priorities? I have found that the more I immerse myself in Jesus through prayer, Scripture meditation and study, and the more time I spend in community with other followers of Jesus, the more my life aligns with Jesus’ heart. When you’re lit up with love, you align your life with Jesus’ priorities so you can see where he is working and have the energy to join him. One day the Lord will ask us, “What did you do with the precious time I gave you on earth?” May we say, “Lord, we followed you. And you led us to your lost sheep.”

Barriers like method, fear, inadequacy, indifference, shame, and time will always tempt us to stay silent rather than engage with people who don’t know Jesus. But we can choose to see those barriers and turn them into opportunities to look to Christ, call out to Christ, and trust in the power of Christ. And when we do, the perfect love of Jesus will shine through the darkness of shame and cast out all fear. (Read 1 John 4:18.)

Barriers to sharing the gospel will always be present. The dark powers of evil do not want lost people be found. However, just like the stone that enclosed the tomb of Christ was rolled away by the love of God, barriers to sharing our faith will be rolled away the God who lights his people up with love.

We hope you enjoyed this six-part series by Pastor Derwin Gray.