Ok, God, what do you want me to write about for this blog?

No… I’m not writing about that. What else you got?

When I was fighting God on writing this blog, He reminded me what happened the last time I disobeyed Him. So here we go…

The Holy Spirit had been prompting me to have a conversation with a friend, let’s call them Logan. I rationalized it wasn’t my place and I was being overly critical. The thought nagged me, but I continually pushed it away. Eventually I did something I thought Logan would never know about. Turns out they were well aware of it and my actions hurt their feelings.

Is God calling you to have a difficult conversation? Take it from me, you don’t want want to ignore the Holy Spirit. Here are 3 things God showed me through this experience and I hope it encourages you to act in obedience.

It is your place. Romans 12:5 says, “so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” If you attend SoHills, you’ve heard Shannon paraphrase this as, “We are family” and he’ll add a loving family has difficult conversations. By not acting, I put my own comfort above Logan’s good. I wasn’t concerned about her needs, only my own. Does this sound like Christ? Is this what God wants of His church?

It’s won’t be as bad as you think. I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I asked Logan if we could talk and I was so nervous I was shaking. I knew I had to share what God put on my heart, but I also had to own my disobedience and my hurtful actions. I had no idea how Logan would receive any of it. I confessed. I shared. I (eventually) stopped talking. Then Logan said they wished I had talked to them before and forgave me.

When you put your own needs aside and demonstrate a genuine love for the other person, even if your message is difficult to hear, you’ll be surprised at how well they will receive it. Will it be this way every time? Of course not. We are broken, damaged goods. But if they are a believer, they have the same Spirit residing in them. Ask God to prepare their heart and to help you present the truth with compassion and gentleness.

Immediate obedience has far sweeter fruit. Jonah didn’t obey and got swallowed by a fish (Jonah 1). I may not have had to spend 3 days in an animal’s stomach, but I didn’t obey and I hurt a friendship. When I finally obeyed, Logan forgave me, but I would be naive to think our relationship is untarnished. I know I have to build back trust. I can only imagine how much stronger our friendship would have been had I acted the first time.

Stop waiting. If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to speak into another believer’s life, do it. Send them a text or give them a call and ask when you can meet for coffee.