CAN I GET A WITNESS?
“He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.” Psalm 107:29-32
We need to testify to God’s goodness in our lives!
Has God been active in your life lately? Have you told anyone about what He’s been doing or what He’s been teaching you?
One of the things my husband says when he’s asking for testimonies is that there’s no safer place to share what God’s been doing in your life than in church, in front of people who love you and believe the same way you do. It’s a great place to practice telling others how good God is!
Testimony times aren’t as common in churches any more. It used to be a normal part of most Sunday evening services, but the truth is, Sunday evening services are becoming rare. That being said, testimonies should not follow suit.
As you can see by these verses from Psalm 107, David thought it was very important to share publicly those personal details of “the wonderful things He [God] has done.” He understood that the "sharing" is part of God’s plan of telling the world about Him.
Haven’t we all been encouraged by someone’s testimony? Isn’t it wonderful to celebrate with someone who’s been going through a difficult time but is now sharing how God saw them through? We can’t stay silent when God works in our lives. He works so that others will see Him!
The world testifies all the time. They disguise it as newscasts… But the truth is that they are always heralding someone’s good works to bring attention to them. The world adores their athletes and movie stars and musical artists, and puts stock in what they say because someone has proclaimed loud and long how awesome they are.
We can’t let those voices drown out the true voice that needs to be heard. We can’t stop talking about God’s goodness in our lives. We may not have a specific service in which to share a testimony, but we’ve all got someone we can tell!
David said “exalt him publicly before the congregation.” Practice with God’s people! Then David said “and before the leaders of the nation.” Practice enough that it becomes second nature to talk about God’s goodness wherever He opens the door. Testifying is about pointing others to Christ. The Message (a paraphrase of God's Word) puts Matthew 5:16b this way: “be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”
