By: Nathan Fox
What Spurred This Post
A few days ago Ashley (my fiancée) and I were at church, and
really we were just talking to people after the service. A man in our church
walked up to Ashley and I and saw our Marriage Counseling books that we are
working through in preparation for our life together; immediately seeing our
books spurred a conversation between the three of us. This man ended up telling
us his story of a failed marriage due to his inability to “stay in God’s Word
and to communicate with his wife.” He told us of a season of his life that was
utterly lost, as he was addicted to drugs and was even arrested for running a
meth operation. I knew his story, but had never heard him so purposefully open
in telling it. Here was this man who didn’t know Ashley and barely knew me
giving us advice on marriage through his testimony, which was a true blessing
to hear.
The true irony in all of this is that later on that night I
was reading through Acts chapter 22. It is in this chapter that Paul is found
giving his own testimony (to a group of Jews that hated him no less, which I
posted about last week). He covered everything about his conversion story, from
his life before Christ (found in verses 3-5), his heart change (6-11), and his
life since (12-21). He told of his radical conversion from killing Christians
to being close to death for Christ. He told of the moment that He met Jesus and
everything else in between. And remember, this was all to a group that hated
him as evidenced by chapter 21! These Jews didn’t want to hear his story, but
he told it anyways. They didn’t want to hear that God had made him an apostle
for the Gentiles, but He pronounced it anyways. Paul told his life story (which
was not the only time in Scripture he went into detail about his conversion),
and in doing so we see an important point that should resonate with us today:
God gave each believer a unique story for His glory.
Do Not Be Ashamed of Your Past…
I read of Paul’s willingness to share his testimony and it
excites me! It makes me bolder in my attempt to share the story of my life, and
how God changed me just as He changed Paul. If you read my biography you would
know where I have come from. You would know that I struggled with an eating
disorder that cost me everything from friends to dating relationships, to even
my beloved basketball. It is easy for me to want to forget my past, because it
was so painful for me to go through. I can’t even begin to describe the
emotional and mental hurt that I experienced in that time. I am honestly
tearing up as I write this; because what I went through is a pain I cannot even
come close to describing. It is easy for me to want to forget it all, but I
can’t. I can’t take back what happened any more that than I can control my
favorite sports teams winning. What has happened is something that is in the
past, and as time has gone on I have embraced it just as Paul did. I am not
proud of it (and I am quite sure Paul was not proud of his past either), but I
can tell you that when I tell my story I include my past because it is in entire
story that God gets the glory.
But Instead Tell Your Story to Give
God the Glory
I have learned that by giving my entire testimony God is
honored and glorified. As I give my testimony, I highlight just how far He has
brought me. I highlight just how much He has done in my life and in doing so He
truly does get the glory of changing a broken, hell-bent boy into a growing,
loving man. I am so proud of my God, and so proud that He can still change
lives just as He changed Paul’s life and my life. God is still very much in the
business of changing lives, but it might be that he changes someone’s life
through your story. Each believer has a unique testimony in which God
transformed their life. I urge you to tell it to anyone you know. What a
privilege it is that we have a story to tell, let alone a story that could
change someone else’s stance toward God. Numerous times my story has spurred
people to praise God, and even in some cases has been a prelude of someone
giving their life to God. My testimony has been used by God to bring people to
Himself! What a joy that is for me to experience!
I am telling you from believer to believer to tell your
story. Give your testimony as often as you can, just as Paul did. It is
uniquely yours and can truly be used by God to change the life of another. Whether
it is a simple story or not doesn’t matter; it is your story! Share it with
someone, and pray that God would use it to bring changed people into His
Kingdom. At the very least, telling your story will bring you to praise God for
giving you a story to begin with. At most, it could be the catalyst for someone
to receive Jesus. In it all, God is glorified. And that is why we tell our
story: for His glory.
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