Building A Testimony

What kind of testimony is God building in you? We often hear or read about the person who went from rags to riches and wee get excited. We do the same with people who went from poverty to prominence and our faith is encouraged. We love the stories of God redeeming the drug addict, saving the sex addict, or rescuing the abused.

God loves to build testimonies. Here is the kicker. Many times God uses adverse circumstances to build a greater testimony. The blacker the backdrop the more glory God gets from the person who simply pressed on rather than quit. The harsher the reality among the persecuted the more treasured God appears to those watching Christians suffer willingly and joyfully for a greater cause than comfort and personal security. There are people that treasure Jesus Christ more than health or even life.

We miss the truth that many times the adversity in our lives is God building a greater testimony. Instead of seizing the opportunity to trust God and to watch Him work, we waste our days in whining, crying, sniveling, complaining, pouting, and even giving up.

I will agree that there are some people that seem to live more blessed than the rest of us. They succeed, make more money than they know what to do with it, and are seemingly blessed in every way. Certain pastors and singers hit the fast track of success and have all the perks that go with that success. Honestly those people do not inspire me.

I am inspired by John Bunyan, who spent years of his life in prison because he refused to be silenced in preaching the word of God. He suffered in isolation. His wife and children suffered in poverty because he would not accept the compromise of his freedom in exchange for his silence in the pulpit. God was building a greater testimony. While in prison, Bunyan wrote his book Pilgrim's Progress. This book has been one of the best selling books of all times. What makes it more impressive to me is the backdrop from where he wrote the book.

Paul also spent time in prison and also wrote. He wrote much of the New Testament in prison. God built a greater testimony in Paul. He wrote many powerful statements. I have been crucified with Christ  and it is no longer I who live but Christ in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. [Gal 2:20] For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. [Phil 1:21] But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. [Phil 3:7-8] Not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. [Phil 4:11]

Adversity did not keep Paul from living for and serving the greater cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He did not use his persecutions or imprisonment as excuses for not being faithful and not building a testimony. He trusted God was bigger. Bigger than beatings. Bigger than prison. Bigger than hunger. Bigger than comfort. Even bigger than martyrdom.

What kind of testimony is God building in you? I see the truth in my life. God is using adversity to build a testimony of His enduring faithfulness in and through me. A hundred times Brenda and I could have gone under financially over the years. Over and over God rescued us with His timely provision. Though living that way may seem exciting it is draining. How many broken down pastors will stumble across a blog or book I've written and be encouraged by testimonies of God's provision. How many discouraged saints will entertain the thought that all is lost because of financial pressure and hear me share a testimony about how God met our need at just the right time. This is part of my testimony.

Faith Community Church could have died many times, but God has sustained us for nearly four years. How many other discouraged church planters will hear about or read our story and be encouraged to keep laboring and not lose heart.

How many other authors are about to give up on their dream because they cannot get their books published, but they will read one of mine and hang onto the hope that the same God who worked for me can also work for them. Their dream of writing will not die in that moment.

God is building a testimony in you. Maybe you are fighting cancer. The way you live with cancer and continue to trust Christ and to serve Him speaks louder than any sermon. Maybe the end result of the cancer will be death. If you trust Christ your death may minister to more people and your life will preach your funeral message.

Maybe you are divorced but you still have joy and purpose because your identity is hidden in Jesus and not a person. God can use your testimony to minister to scores of other brokenhearted people who cannot find their way through the blinding tears.

God uses adversity to build testimonies in people's lives. What kind of testimony is He building in you? Do not let adversity be an excuse for not going all out in your devotion and service to Him. NO MATTER HOW TOUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEY DO NOT HAVE TO LIMIT YOU FROM BEING ALL GOD WANTS YOU TO BE. YOU ARE NOT LIMITED IN CHRIST BY YOUR PAST, PERSECUTION, POVERTY, CANCER, DIVORCE, BANKRUPTCY OR EVEN DEATH.

Dear Lord, please build a lasting testimony in us. Please help us lean into our troubles with persevering faith. I ask You to remind us that You can even use adversity in building testimonies. For that we give you praise. In Jesus' name, amen.