Sometimes You Ought to Testify

Sometimes you ought to testify. Not because you want everybody to know your business. Not because you need attention. Not because you are trying to convince anybody that you have always had it together. Sometimes you ought to testify because you don't know whose life God is going to touch through your story.

Somebody needs to hear what you've been through. Somebody needs to know what God brought you out of. Somebody needs to know that the smile on your face didn't come because life has always been good. It came because God has always been faithful.

We spend a lot of time in church talking about what God did for Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Ruth and Paul. And we should. Their testimonies remind us of the power and faithfulness of God. But every now and then, somebody needs to hear what God did for you. When you stand up in Sunday school, don't just tell them what the Bible says. Tell them what God did for you. When you go to choir rehearsal, don't just sing Amazing Grace. Tell somebody why God's grace has been so amazing in your life. Tell them about the night you didn't think you were going to make it. Tell them about the door that closed and you thought your life was over — only to discover that God was protecting you from walking into something that would have destroyed you. Tell them about the prayer God answered. And don't be afraid to tell them about the prayer God didn't answer, because you've lived long enough now to thank Him for some things He refused to give you.

Somebody ought to know Jesus because they met you. Somebody ought to find hope because they heard your story. Somebody ought to make it to heaven because one day you had enough courage to say, "Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me." Everybody who has been born again ought to have a story. And your story doesn't have to sound like anybody else's.

Some of us can testify about what God delivered us from. But some of us ought to testify about what God kept us from. Because the truth is, there were some roads we started down that could have ended very differently. There were some relationships that could have destroyed us. There were some decisions that could have followed us for the rest of our lives. There were some nights when we were one bad decision away from changing everything.

But somewhere along the way, God stepped in. He blocked something. He interrupted something. He closed a door. He removed somebody. He changed your mind. He made you uncomfortable enough to leave something you were determined to stay in. And what frustrated you then became something you thanked God for later.

That's a testimony. Some of us survived bad marriages. Bad relationships. Broken homes. Painful childhoods. Absent fathers. Emotionally unavailable mothers. Words spoken over us that took years to stop believing.

Some of us grew up without seeing the kind of love we needed, yet somehow God put enough love inside of us to give our children what we never received. That's a testimony.

You discovered that you don't have to become what hurt you. Your father may not have been everything you needed him to be, but you can still become a loving father. Your mother may not have known how to show affection, but you can still become a nurturing mother. Your marriage may have broken your heart, but you don't have to spend the rest of your life bitter. Somebody mistreated you, but you don't have to become mean. Somebody abandoned you, but you don't have to spend your life abandoning everybody else before they get a chance to abandon you. Because God knows how to heal your past without allowing your past to control your future.

Sometimes you ought to testify. Tell somebody, "I had some broken places, but God put me back together." Tell somebody, "I cried some tears nobody knew about, but God dried them." Tell somebody, "I almost gave up, but God wouldn't let me quit." Tell somebody, "I lost some things, but I didn't lose my faith." Tell somebody, "I walked through the storm and the rain, and somehow God calmed the sea in my life."

You don't have to tell everybody every detail of your story. Some chapters are between you and God. But don't be ashamed of the scars. Because scars are simply proof that the wound didn't win. There ought to come a time when you stop being embarrassed about what you survived and start thanking God that you survived it.

So today, I don't need you to shout over somebody else's blessing. I don't need you to high-five anybody. I don't need you to celebrate what God did for your neighbor. For just a moment, think about your own story. Think about where you could have been. Think about what should have taken you out. Think about what broke you but didn't destroy you. Think about what you cried over five years ago that you can finally smile about today. Think about the person you used to be compared with the person God is shaping you into.

And if you can't shout about anything else, shout because you're still here. Still standing. Still believing. Still growing. Still loving. Still forgiving. Still becoming. Still trusting God.

Your testimony isn't simply about where you've been. Your testimony is evidence that where you've been doesn't have the authority to determine where you're going. And ultimately, every testimony points us back to the greatest testimony of all. One Friday, on a hill called Calvary, Jesus took our brokenness, our failures, our sins, our mistakes and our shame to the cross.

He died. But early Sunday morning, He got up with all power in His hands. And because He got up, you can get up. Because He lives, your past can be redeemed. Because He lives, broken things can be restored. Because He lives, wounded hearts can heal. Because He lives, your story isn't over.

So don't hide your testimony. Somebody is struggling with something you've already survived. Somebody is praying for a breakthrough you've already experienced. Somebody is standing where you used to stand, wondering whether they're ever going to make it out. And God may be waiting to use your story to tell them: "If He brought me through it, He can bring you through it too."

Sometimes you ought to testify. Because somebody needs to know that God is still in the business of turning broken stories into living testimonies.