One morning in Florida as I was walking along the shoreline of the ocean, I noticed an older woman headed in my direction. As she walked closer, she smiled and said, “It’s nice to see you out here so early each morning.” I smiled and shared with her how special my mornings are because mornings are my time with Jesus.

She nodded her head, though I felt in my spirit she had a barrier preventing her from knowing Jesus. She began to quote a couple verses in the Bible, common verses, and shifted her conversation to a website she was very active in. The Holy Spirit warned me about her website, so I kindly thanked her for the information.

During this interaction with the older woman, I began silently asking the Holy Spirit for an opportunity to share with her the redeeming love and grace of Jesus. However, the more this lady spoke, the more restricted I felt in my soul.

We ended our conversation, and I proceeded back to my family. I asked the Holy Spirit why I wasn’t given an opportunity to speak life and encouragement into her life through the love of Jesus.

“Her heart was not ready or willing to receive the Truth.”

I was saddened in my heart for this woman. I asked the Lord what I should do in interactions when I am hindered from sharing the Gospel, and His response was perfect, “Do what you know. Love them and serve them.”

As I began to reflect on the numerous times I have found myself in a conversation with others and felt uncomfortable or hindered from sharing the love of Jesus, I was alarmed at the lack of understanding I possessed. There were so many times I was consumed with “planting the Gospel seed” that I neglected the opportunity to simply love and serve others.

You see, the Lord calls us to “preach to the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God to be Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42), but my desire to be His disciple to the ends of the earth was too narrow. I understood this instruction from the Lord as simply speaking  the Truth of God in love; however, when we are in partnership with the Holy Spirit, we are more impactful and effective when we follow His leadership.

If, instead, we carry the yoke upon ourselves as a servant to others, we will recognize the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit moving. When we interact with another person, we have to remember the God who knows everything about us also knows everything about that other person. We can either take matters into our own hands and assume everyone needs the “seed of the Gospel”, or we can trust the movement, direction, and instruction of the Holy Spirit. He desires everyone to come to knowledge of the Lord Jesus and desires for all people to be saved, but we cannot and will not ever know what a person spiritually needs in that moment. If we try to force an opportunity that has not been presented to us by God, we will find ourselves awkwardly trying to present the most beautiful Salvation of Jesus to a heart that is not prepared to receive it.

So, if you’re like me and are eager to share the freedom and love of Jesus to everyone you meet, I encourage you to pay attention to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Always be eager to preach the Good News to those He sends you, but don’t be too eager and ignore the perfect wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He may give you an opportunity to share your beautiful salvation in Christ, or He may be asking you to simply love and serve them instead.

The good news is, with the Spirit involved, we win either way.