Not saved to be silent.

I read this simple phrase on a T-shirt awhile back and immediately loved it. So much so that I searched for that same tee on the internet in hopes of wearing it proudly. I knew that the phrase carried so much power. Unfortunately, that tee was no where to be found. 

God breathed life into the phrase and placed it on my heart last Friday. I finally knew what it truly meant.

At the beginning of this semester, I knew that I needed to be bold. I was going to invite people to church, bring up God anyway I could, and proudly proclaim the Gospel at any cost. That lasted all of two weeks. I didn't invite anyone to church, I avoided conversations about religion, and I didn't verbally express my love for the Lord to those who lived contrary. I became ashamed. 

Prayer stopped becoming a lifestyle and started becoming a chore. For a long time I denied that there was a problem, but I knew in the pit of my stomach that I was wrong. And it hurt.

Last Friday I prayed. Real prayers. Heartfelt prayers. For the first time in a long time. I trembled because it was at the moment that God spoke to me and said "you are not saved to be silent". I cried because that's exactly what I was doing for months. 

This was a tactic of the enemy that I was blind to. He wanted to silence me because he knew that I could speak life, move mountains, and help turn people from the darkness to the light. The enemy knew that God wanted to use me vocally before I even knew that. I've been prophesied many times that I am an evangelist, or will be one, but I didn't believe it. I've been told that I'm an excellent speaker, but I rejected that notion as well.

The fear of public speaking is ranked #1 in the United States. More people are afraid of speaking in public than dying. And as a Christian that's backwards. We do not need to fear death because Christ overcame it! We need to go tell people about our Lord and Savior!

We were called to be free. The chain of silence needs to be broken off of Gods people. The chain of being ashamed needs to be broken off of His servants. The chain of rejection needs to be broken off of His children. 

Father, I repent tonight.                   I was not saved to be silent.

This. This. This.