FAITH COLUMN: Great Story

The following article is an opinion piece and reflects the views of only the author and not those of AllOnGeorgia.

If you have given your testimony publicly, you know how difficult and emotional it can be. Especially the first time you tell of going through an extremely difficult time in order to illustrate God’s hand on the situation. The first time God released me to give my testimony about a trying time in my life, I was nervous, I cried and by the end I felt like I had run a marathon. I ended in prayer and then someone in the audience made a beeline to me. She said, “That was a great story.”

Great story? That was me bearing my soul and telling of the goodness of the Lord and all she heard was a great story? I think I know what she meant, but perhaps didn’t choose the best words to express it. Everyone has a life story, but not everyone has a testimony. And of those who have a testimony, even fewer will share it. How then will they call on him in who they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Romans 10:14

The evidence that God is real is in your testimony. Christians can quote scripture all day long, but what people who do not know the Lord really want to know is, “How do you know God is real?” When we give our own personal account of the power of God in our life, it reaches people in a way that referring them to the Bible cannot. If you had ever run into Paul in New Testament times and asked him what has God done in your life, you should pull up a chair. Many accounts are recorded where Paul told his testimony in detail. A testimony of transformation, provision and purpose that is still reaching people today through many of the books of the New Testament.

Your testimony shows what a personal God we serve. Think of how He reached into your life so specifically and showed loving kindness. It is not enough that you know that God did that, but others are witnesses to His glory through hearing about it. Giving your testimony for the first time can feel like you are wearing your heart on the outside of your body. People learn your hidden struggles and sometimes shameful past. That mustbe told too; it gives hope to others who think God will not help them because they are too far gone.

Lunch with a friend one afternoon revealed that God delivered her from an abusive past. Other than her husband, I was the only person she ever told. During that lunch, we became cemented as sisters in Christ. Then she said, “I feel like I should share my testimony with others, but am I being selfish and using it as my own form of therapy?” My response was, “If you were using your testimony as a way to make yourself feel better, you would have already done it.”

Once you have done the hardest thing, which is giving your testimony the first time, get ready because God is going to give you more opportunities to tell it. Another person in line behind “great story” lady was a woman who asked me to share my testimony with teens. That was the Lord affirming that my testimony is more than a great story, it is an account of a living and active God.

By: Nadolyn Lee

Nadolyn has served in church ministry in the areas of music, children and youth for over thirty years. She is creator of ‘Dirt Road Believer’ YouTube channel where she produces Christian devotions every Tuesday and Thursday. Her home is in Summerville, GA with her husband and four children.