A few years ago I was running a 5K with a friend. I’m not much of a runner, so I was hoping our conversation would be enough to take my mind to a better place than repeating, “One foot in front of the other” and “Keep going” over and over. I’m not sure how we started talking about testimonies, but this conversation not only kept my mind off running, but it made its way into my “Best of” memories.

My friend was lamenting that she grew up as a pastor’s daughter in a Christian family and she felt like she didn’t really have an interesting testimony to share. Jesus was a part of her earliest memories, and she faithfully followed Him her whole life. As an adult, she found herself somewhat “jealous” of her husband’s dramatic story of salvation. He was literally in a rock-n-roll band, living a rock-n-roll life when the Lord captured his heart and changed his entire life. She said she saw how people reacted to her husband’s story, and she felt like her story was a snoozer compared to his.

I understood why she felt that way, but I also knew she was wrong. This is a woman who lives out loud for Jesus and is marked by His wisdom in all of her dealings. It was hard for me to hear her discount her testimony for Jesus just because there wasn’t a dramatic story of salvation. It was then that the Lord placed a question on my heart to ask her: “If you could only choose between your story and your husband’s story for the salvation of your children, which would you choose?”

She didn’t even have to think. At once she understood the graciousness the Lord had shown her as she faithfully followed Him. If she were to choose a path for her children to follow, she would choose her “snoozer” path every single day for her kids. All of a sudden, her testimony went from boring to everything she would want for her own children.

Isn’t it amazing how the Lord can shift our perspective and bring glory to Himself at the same time?

The Lord uses everything; He wastes nothing. He uses dramatic testimonies in mighty ways to show how miraculously He can change a life (like Saul to Paul). But He also uses the testimonies of those who grew up in faithful, Christian homes and never wavered from the truth. Frankly, our testimonies are much less about who we were and what we did, and ALL about Who Christ is and what He has done (is doing and WILL do) in us and through us. He is the hero and focal point of every testimony.

In our American Christian culture, a “testimony” usually refers to the specific story of how a person came to accept Jesus as their Savior. In the English dictionary, “testimony” means “a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law;” or “a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.”

However, the word in Hebrew is “aydooth,” which translates to “do it again with the same power and authority.” The “it” is the saving work of Jesus in a person’s life.  The emphasis is not on the story, but the outcome, and Who caused the outcome. The emphasis in the Hebrew is in the right place. When we share our testimonies, we are saying, “Lord, do it again with the same power and authority as You did before.” How He does it – in a young, faithful life or a dramatic turn-around – is way less important.

When we share our testimonies, we are partnering with God asking Him to DO. IT. AGAIN.

The overarching goal for a Believer sharing their testimony is first to bring glory to Jesus; and next to tell of the personal way the Lord rescued us when we were far from Him (and there is no differing degree of “far” – before we met Jesus, we all NEEDED Him). There are simply no boring testimonies by Heaven’s standards. There was loud cheering in the Heavenlies for each and every person who has ever given their life to Christ – no exceptions (Luke 15:7).

Lately, I have had several occasions to share just a small snippet of my testimony. Often, I am around moms of teens and young adults (because I, too, am a mom of teens and a young adult). Sometimes a mom will reach out and ask for prayer for her almost grown child because they are not walking with the Lord and seem to have no interest in Him. I share with them that in my late teens/early 20s, I didn’t want to follow the Lord and thought those who “needed” God (or a religion) were weak. But when I was 21 He pursued me and I found Him absolutely irresistible. I asked Him to take everything and everyone out of my life – I just wanted Him. Just that short part of my testimony gives them hope that the Lord will do it again in their child’s life. I shared my testimony in a previous post HERE.

There is literal power – His power – in the sharing of our testimonies. The Lord already knows to whom you will share your testimony and how He will use it to stir the hearts of anyone who hears it. I fully believe those who feel their testimonies are “inadequate” will understand when they meet Jesus face-to-face, that whatever their testimony, it was just right for them and those who would hear it.

He is only good. And His story in your life is worth telling.

“For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

Dear Lord, Thank You for calling us to You. May the story of Your pursuit of us never grow stale. May we always remember You as the center of our story. Lord, give us opportunities to share our testimonies to encourage other Believers and engage with those who don’t yet know the Maker of Heaven and Earth. We love You, Lord. Maranatha! Amen.