A Powerful Testimony
What is a powerful testimony? You ask five people that same question, you'll probably get five different answers, so what is a powerful testimony to you?
To explain my answer, let me back up a few weeks. I was at a funeral service for the father of someone who plays a big role in my life. She was able to stand before everyone and say that there was no doubt in her mind that her daddy was with Jesus now, but he had not always been the deacon that they all knew and loved. She didn't have to give any sorted details of his past. All she had to say was that he had a past that through Jesus's grace he had overcome. That was enough, and that was my idea of a truly powerful testimony.
I don't want anyone to get the idea that their own testimony isn't powerful in its own rights. Is my testimony powerful? Absolutely! It is the most powerful thing that has, is, or will ever happen to me in my life. My testimony might be inspiring to kids, parents, or others like myself who were saved at a very young age; however, I was six years old when I asked Jesus into my heart. There are people out there who struggle with things that at six years old, I had no idea existed. My testimony won't help them. I can sympathize with them, but there is no way that I could ever empathize with them. I haven't been in their shoes.
There are many people in our world who are suffering things like addiction, abuse, neglect, and so much more. To share a testimony powerful enough to help them, you need someone who has been where they are. You need someone who is on the other side, because Jesus brought them safely to the other side. Only their testimonies will ever be powerful enough to reach others like themselves.
People who are hurting don't want to hear how blessed someone like myself has been all my life. They want someone who has been where they are to tell them how to get out, how to find help.
Do you have people like that in your churches? All too often people with a past are shunned, made to feel unwelcome, or worse told they're unwelcome. As a result they leave. How does that help the next person? We have a world that is hurting, yet we are running off the very ones who God has sent to help. There is a place for people like myself or the straight-laced deacons, but there is a place too for those with a truly powerful testimony.
When there is a powerful pain present, God sends in someone with a powerful testimony.
As I sat there at that funeral service, I wondered how many young men her dad had ministered too. How many did he tell, "I know what you're going through. Sit down. Let me tell you what I did and what God did for me."
