How can I unobtrusively share Jesus in my surroundings and workplace?

 

If you sincerely desire to share your faith in the Lord Jesus with your colleagues in your work place, the first thing to do is to place this desire before God and ask Him to prepare and guide you about it. Ask Him to prepare you to recognize the possible opportunities that come your way, and to show you how to capitalize on them; to lead you to the people who are ready to receive the Gospel, or atleast listen to it, without getting into any unreasonable arguments about it (1 Corinthians 16:9). Ask Him to give you the required courage and the appropriate words and expressions to do this as best as you can (Isaiah 50:4), and to keep your opponents under check and control while you obey the Lord in this ministry.

The best way to “preach” unobtrusively and without inviting opposition, is to live it out and witness through your life (Revelations 12:11), since your life speaks louder and more effectively than any words you may say. Your witness is in two forms – firstly, your spoken word of testimony of how the Lord has changed your life, and keeps helping and working for you since the time He changed your heart, changed you from within; and secondly, the practical day-to-day testimony of your life that your colleagues and others observe – of your lifestyle, interests, speech, behavior, sincerity, work ethics and commitments etc. Through the former, you share about your personal experiences – you don’t tell any person what he should do or not do – that will invite antagonism and arguments; instead, you just share what the Lord has done in your life, and/or how the Lord helped you in a given situation. Since those are your own experiences, nobody can disprove them or negate them for you, and the Lord will use them to work in the heart of the other persons; to generate a curiosity or a desire to try it out in their life as well. Through the latter, i.e. the witness of your lifestyle etc. you let your life witness silently but practically, and whenever anyone raises a query about what they see in your life, you should be ready to share your faith and the gospel with them (2 Timothy 4:2).

Another thing that you can do is to go and pray with or for a person in distress, or in a problem, or in any adverse situation, or in any tension, or in need of any help or guidance. You can humbly and lovingly ask for their permission to pray with them, and if they consent to do so, then without any undue “preaching” in your prayer, just pray a short and simple prayer with them, asking God to help them out through their situation, and to let them experience God’s peace even in that troublesome situation. This can even be done through telephonic conversation. Make it a point to pray for your opponents, even if it is silently and without them being aware of it (Romans 12:14-21), till God at an appropriate time shows them how you have prayed for them despite their opposition to you.

But beware, Satan will not miss any opportunity to raise problems and oppositions, and to make you fall into various temptations (1 Timothy 4:1-2), so that your witness gets tarnished and is rendered ineffective. So be very careful and discerning about what you see (Psalms 101:3; 119:37), say (Ephesians 4:29), do (1 Peter 2:11-12), and how you live and behave (1 Corinthians 11:1). Always keep clinging to the Lord for all things, never relying on your own intellect and not doing or saying  anything without first praying to Him about it (Proverbs 3:5-6); else Satan will beguile you away into some temptation or error (2 Corinthians 11:3).

This does not mean that your efforts will always be taken positively and constructively, you will not face any opposition or problems, and life will be a “smooth sailing” for you – that cannot be – Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12; there will always be some negative responses. Nevertheless, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).