Let the Redeemed of the Lord Tell Their Story

There are people all around us every day who are disillusioned by life in this fallen world, who need to hear about the hope we've found in Jesus. It seems rather fitting to conclude our Disillusioned Series by emphasizing the fact that our testimonies are important and can be incredibly powerful. Our stories of what God has done and is doing in our lives is a personal witness to those around us of His power and faithfulness.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are a living, breathing testimony to the world that He is who He says He is and does what He says He will do.

I shared a message titled We All Have a Story to Tell at a women's event back in November of 2015. I had attended a conference luncheon that Summer where the speaker shared a story from her past about insecurities she had struggled with and how coming to faith in Jesus Christ had helped her in overcoming them. Her story impacted me and every woman in the room, because we all struggle with insecurities of some kind. I began thinking about how the stories of what God has done in our lives can connect us with others, especially those going through a similar experience, and give us the ability to share our faith in Christ. God had used my own story just a few years earlier on the mission field with a woman who was going through something I had once been through. God used that story to connect our hearts and the Holy Spirit drew her to faith in Jesus Christ.

When I got back to my hotel room, I did a search to see if the word "story" was used anywhere in scripture in relation to our testimony and that's when I found the NIV version of Psalm 107:2 - Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. To make a long story of God's incredible faithfulness short, I used this verse as my focal passage for the message I shared that Fall. I intertwined stories of how God had worked in my own life over the years with the verses in this Psalm to emphasize the relevance and importance of sharing our story as Christ followers. My hope was that sharing my own Jesus stories would help them see how God can use the stories of what He has done in our lives to connect us with others, giving us an opportunity to share the Gospel. God was incredibly faithful and impacted many lives through that message, including my own!

In the 4 months between the conference and that event, the song "My Story" by Big Daddy Weave was released and I also received a flyer about a women's conference with "Every seat holds a story" printed on the front. Mind you, this was years before "story" became the buzzword it is today! There was no doubt in my mind that God was at work spreading the importance of our stories - and boy has He!

Since that event, from 2015 to today, I have watched God place the same message on the hearts and minds of other Christians as the popularity of this concept that we each have "a story" to share grew - and not just in the Christian arena. It has infiltrated just about every area of American marketing today.

An article in Forbes last year stated, "You should reorient everything around storytelling. This is because I’ve found that people don’t remember data or speeds and feeds; it’s stories that transcend time, people and cultures... Storytelling is powerful because it creates an emotional connection." The importance of our individual stories has garnered attention across the globe and I believe God has orchestrated all of this for a reason and with a purpose, for such a time as this.

As God's people, we have ignored the importance of sharing our testimonies for far too long and have forgotten how powerful they are! Revelation 12:11 tells us, "They triumphed over him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."

There is power in the blood of Jesus and there is power in our testimony of what His blood has done for us!

We're alive at a point on God's timeline when more and more people are growing disillusioned with "religion." They have their reasons and they don't want a Christian witnessing to them, nor will they grace the doorstep of a church building if they can help it. But many of those same people will openly welcome someone who desires to cultivate a meaningful relationship. In fact technology has isolated people more than ever before and there are people all around us who are starved for interpersonal connections. If we will open our eyes wide enough to look around, we will always find opportunities God gives to serve others in some way, allowing us to build relationships and connect with those individuals through our personal stories. And as Christ followers, sharing our personal stories and experiences naturally includes Jesus.

We have the opportunity to show the world that being a Christian is not about a religion, it's about a relationship with a Savior who is intricately involved in our lives - by showing those around us the love of Jesus Christ. We can show others what it really looks like to be a Christ follower, by loving others as He loves us.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34–35

No matter what is going on in this world around us, God will always provide a way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to go forth and He will always give us opportunities to share our faith. Oh that we would choose to see what is going on in this world around us for the opportunity it is - an opportunity God has given us to tell our story! A story of a Savior who met us at our point of need and changed everything - and that He can do the same for them!

There are disillusioned people around us everyday who need to hear about the One who took our mess and gave us a message of hope and healing, of purpose and passion! I have seen God use my story of what He has done for me to bring others to faith in Jesus Christ - and He wants to use your story for His glory as well!

Let the redeemed of the Lord to tell their story, unhindered!

Lord, I know that my unbelief hinders what you desire to do in and through my life and testimony. I ask you to forgive my unbelief and help me to trust you more fully. Please give me the courage and opportunity to share what you have done and are doing in my life with others. Please use the story you have given me for your glory! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Psalm 107:2 NIV