You have an untold story to share:

I am a part of a monthly Bible study through my church.  We are currently reading this book called, “Alive in Him” by Gloria Furman.  This is a book that is bringing us through the book of Ephesians in the Bible.  This last time we were assigned to read two chapters and pick our highlight from the chapter.  From chapter 6, my highlight was a quote that said, “As the Spirit has descended and been and are written.  As the Spirit has descended and dwells believers, he is carrying out Jesus’s work.  Of course, the world cannot contain the books that would be written.  What glorious work the body of Christ has done in Jesus’s name and through his power over the centuries!”

I think this was important to me because I absolutely love to write.  (This seems fairly obvious considering, how often I write for this blog).  The idea that God values writing and writers and would love to use the gifts of writing in order to share his goodness to the glory of himself, fills me with joy.  I want to know that God wants to use my passion and love for something good in the world.  I also love knowing that God can use all of our stories and all of our testimonies for the greatest good of bringing others closer to God.  

Another devotional book that I have been reading is “21 Servants of Sovereign Joy,” by John Piper.   This book is about followers of Jesus, and each chapter is devoted to one believer along with what their life can teach us.  This is a good inspiration for many other followers.  I realized that these mini-biographies are good stories for others who are a part of the Christian world that are different than the stories that are written in the Bible.  Again, this is not saying that we shouldn’t read the Bible because that should be our main source of knowledge and growth, but again this just shows me the importance of stories.  

The idea and the importance of stories have also been a long-held belief in the Christian sphere.  There have been a few hymns including, “The Love of God is Greater Far,” written in 1923 by Frederick Martin Lehman.  The main verse is “Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade.”  This verse of the hymn is talking about making God’s words and God’s stories fill the whole world.  Then the second one is “This is my story” written by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp in 1873.  The main lyrics here are, “This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.”  The story is that we should be praising the Lord all day long, filling the world with his words, and creating pastors and preachers everywhere we go.

This also shows me how important it is to share our testimony.  I believe there are many who are under the assumption that one needs to have a long and compelling testimony to be important enough to tell.  I always felt as though my story never really mattered.  I had such an easy story.  I was a Christian from a young age, and I grew up in a semi-regular home.  Since I had always been a Christian, I didn’t think that I could inspire anyone else by my testimony.  However, I need to remember that my story is one of redemption and love, and therefore should be shared.  I think this is important that I tell my testimony right now, and I am hoping that many others would also share their testimony.  This could be something that you write down or this could be something that you tell someone you know.  This does not by any means have to be a half-hour-long story, but can be just a quick recap of what God has done in your life and how he continues to impact you daily.  

Even though I grew up in a Christian home, I would say that I grew more as a Christian when I was in college.  I became a part of this Christian university ministry called the Navigators, and I became a part of an organization called IJM which cares about stopping human trafficking all over the world.  Both of these organizations and working a the nonprofit called the Bridge of Storm Lake have shown me God’s heart for the nations and justice which has only deepened my love for him overall.  I want to spend more time in devotionals, and writing blogs in order to showcase what I have learned to others, so they may know the freedom that I have found in Christ. 

Your story is important for the glory of God, so don’t forget to tell it.