I planted the seed . . .
but God made it grow.
—1 Corinthians 3:6
I’ve been talking with a dear lady whose son is a drug addict. She’s prayed, pleaded, and preached. He’s rebuffed every attempt.
When Paul and his team crossed the Aegean Sea to plant the seed of the gospel for the first time in European soil, their first convert was a woman named Lydia.
Lydia led a women’s prayer group down by a river on the outskirts of Philippi. Paul and his companions joined the gathering, shared the gospel—and “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to respond to Paul’s message” (Acts 16:14).
That’s the human and divine partnership in evangelism. Paul preached, but it was the Lord who opened the heart.
Don’t beat up on yourself if you can’t close the sale. That’s not your job. Only God can do that.
The gospel germinates on God’s timetable.