The Right Words

Devotion for the Week...

I am no good at debating. Though I may know exactly why I think something is right or wrong, the moment I have to counter someone else's arguments, I forget everything I wanted to say. I can't think  fast enough on my feet to keep up with another person who is convinced I'm wrong and has the arguments to prove it.

Two hours later, on the other hand, I know exactly what I should have said to prove my point. It's very frustrating, I can assure you! Thankfully, I've never been in a situation where my lack of debating skills mattered much and the many times I lost my train of thought or otherwise couldn't compete verbally didn't result in anything bad happening. Unless you count my annoyance at not winning, lol.

The Bible tells us, though, that in the end times, "there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers" (Luke 21: 12). Now, that sounds exactly like the sort of situation where my lack of skills could cause very bad things to happen, don't you think? But Jesus, who is speaking to His disciples in this passage, isn't concerned. He goes on to say, "But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me" (v. 13). I'm sure it would be, if I could remember what to say under pressure!

Fortunately, Jesus and I won't be relying on my abilities should this ever come to pass in my life. "So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!" (vv. 14, 15).

Isn't that a wonderful assurance? In what would probably be the most stressful moment in our lives, the words we would need in order to tell people about Jesus would be given to us and we would know exactly what to say. Not only that, but our opponents wouldn't even have anything to say back at us, our arguments would be so compelling. I have never experienced that with only my own words!

Of course, we don't have to wait for the end times and the persecution they will bring to tell people about Jesus and He provides the words for those everyday moments, too. Peter is an excellent example. He, out of fear, denied even knowing Jesus while Jesus was on trial, but then after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, he "stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, 'Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this'" (Acts 2:14). What followed was a powerful sermon about Jesus and God's plan for salvation and "Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all" (v. 41). 3,000!

God will give us the right words to say so we can tell others about Him.