This chapter has performed surgery on my heart. The very question “What If I Don’t” brings images of broken people straight to the forefront of my mind, reminding me of the times that silence was my comfort zone, instead of choosing to be the mouthpiece of God He created me to be. As followers of Christ, the weight of this question has been carried by us all.

Before we respond to these thoughts, let’s take a moment to look at the state of our hour of human history. As of 2019 in America, 47% of Christian millennials believe it is morally wrong to evangelize their faith. A church study shows that within the next 10 years the church will experience another 30% drop in church attendance. 80% of churches are experiencing a decline in their attendance. In a year, on average, over 4,500 churches will shut their doors, while only 3,000 will be planted, according to these trends. Roughly 70% of high school students who enter college as professing Christians will leave with little to no faith. It’s clear that we have been born into a pivotal time in history, and in the face of this growing darkness, it is up to us to stand strong, empowered by the Holy Spirit, this side of Calvary, and victoriously declare, “Not on my watch!”.

Deep down we all know what happens if we don’t share our faith: Nothing. There’s very little as scary and heart-wrenching than to watch the Church of today continue down the path we're currently on, and it’s not our churches, pastors, and friends that are supposed to get the job done for us.

Ephesians 2:10 is talking about us when it says: “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Do our hearts echo the same revelation as David in Psalm 139 verse 16?

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

We have been appointed to such a dark hour in history for His purposes, as He planned.

I once heard a Christian living in a persecuted nation make a powerful statement: “The Christian world is separated into two zones- the conflict zone and the comfort zone - and in the absence of light, darkness prevails.“

The ones in the conflict zone are living out their faith in the face of great persecution, loving Jesus even if it means their death. The ones in the comfort zone are barely even aware of the war going on. Their lives remain unaffected and they can’t be bothered to do anything about the thick darkness around them. Why? Because everything around them caters to comfort and is conducive to complacency. Which part of the world do we think we are living in?

As Jesus looks to those following Him in Matthew 5:14-15, He makes a critical statement about what He created us to be in the earth:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.“

CHALLENGE: If you find yourself surrounded by darkness, remember that you are right where you need to be. You have been placed there to be the light. Be intentional about this and identify some “dark places” that you can be the light to. Write them down if you have to, but more importantly, ask the Holy Spirit to burn them into your heart forever. We are not here to shrink back from dark places (Heb. 10:39), but Jesus has placed us there to pierce the darkness with His light.