The Lord’s Work: Why You Should Speak God's Truth Into People's Lives

With Christmas comes a sense of joy unmatched by any other time of year. The reason for that unmatched level of joy is because Christmas serves as a reminder of God’s love and purpose for humanity by offering redemption through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. Certainly, we don’t actually know the date of when Christ was born (though some early traditions often held to March 25th); however, it is a time that causes us to meditate upon the promises and gifts of God in a way we might not otherwise if we had no celebration at all.

Such Christian joy stands in stark contrast to the secular state of the world, which we see more of now that the most recent is now behind us. Lacking Christ's peace and joy, they have counterfeits that eventually fade away. When stripped away, what we see is a world that exists in a state of desperation and desolation. Hearing reports of news or watching people's social media posts reveals this heart state of society. Looking at this state is disheartening, especially because we know that doesn't have to be the case. In the midst of it all, what gives any of us as Christians the right to speak into their lives?

That's a valid question to ask, and the lack of an answer to that sometimes causes us to freeze up in speaking God's truth in people's lives. That's actually true whether the person before us is a believer or an unbeliever. Because we think we have no authority to speak, we fail to share the gospel with the perishing, and we fail to share wise counsel for the languishing. However, there is an answer.

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul confronts heart issues, and when reading in chapter 10, we come to this in verse 13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”We love this verse and as Christians, like to rely on it. However, recognize that circling this text is Paul's appeal to the Corinthians to do everything to the glory of God, and in doing so, to avoid idolatry (aimed at gratifying self rather than God).

Within it, there is a critical phrase: not common to man. More specifically, he says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man." To put it in the words of the author of Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun." No person's temptation and trial is so personal that it is unique to that individual alone. Rather, it is something that is common to all people at all times. It has been manifested in some way or another for every generation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us permission to speak into people’s lives. Because we have endured what others have endured, we can speak authoritatively into their lives. Though their circumstances may not be the exact same as our own, the temptations and desires of the heart are. Therefore, we have the ability to speak into their lives.

When we understand that what we have faced is what someone before us is facing now, we are freed from our inhibitions to speak God's truth, and we can do so in two ways. With the unbeliever, we can share the gospel, speaking with clarity about how Christ transforms lives. With the believer, we can point the individual towards the Lord, His Word, and work in that circumstance with confidence in the Lord's faithfulness. In other words, understanding that phrase from 1 Corinthians initiates evangelism and discipleship.

Do you know what else that phrase does? It enables both conviction and compassion. Because the Lord has given us similar circumstances, we can share with conviction. We have the assurance that God is at work, and if they draw nearer to Him, He will draw nearer to them (James 4:8). Additionally, because the desperation of trials and temptations are similar, we can speak with compassion. We know what it is like to be there. In this way, recognizing that there is no temptation that is not common to man not only enables evangelism and discipleship, but it enables us to engage in it with conviction and passion, eventually accomplishing the end of 1 Corinthians, glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31).