Testimony

After a promising start as a National Football League starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season ending horrific knee injury in practice. Here is what he had to say in the days following that injury." In order to have a testimony, you have to have a test. I come from amazing DNA, I watched my mom fight and win against breast cancer. We will, as a team, attack my rehab with the same vigor and energy. My faith is strong, my faith is unwavering and my vision is clear. My purpose will not be denied."

I like what he said, "In order to have a testimony you have to have a test." I know many of you reading this are facing severe tests. Dreams have been shattered. Visions have died. Hearts have been crushed. Bodies have been devastated by disease. You have been tested. 

The faces of many people cross my mind. The widower pressing on without her husband. The athlete recovering from injury. The recently divorced picking up the pieces of a shattered life. The business person striving to hang on. The young man who misses his dad when he has to work out of town for weeks on end. The mom concerned for her children. The dad heavy laden for his children. The pastor who struggles to keep the faith. The missionary who often thinks of coming home. All the people who think about quitting on their marriages, their jobs, their dreams, and some even on life itself. 

Out of this broken garden of pain hope can take root and grow. We don't se it that way. We look at our pain as reason to lose hope. I recall many years ago after a very painful season of ministry my friend Jimmy taking me on a little ride. We drove way out in the country and he showed me a completely burnt pasture. There was not a speck of green. Everything was black charred with ashes. The whole sight was ugly. I will not soon forget what he said that day. "All you see now is the black and death. If you come back in a few weeks you will see green and new life. Out of these ahses new life will come again." 

He went on to apply that truth to my painful circumstances. He was right. My circumstances did not change right away. In fact they continued for months after that little lesson. Yet in that garden of pain hope did grow as I walked with God, sought Him for direction, and experienced new faith. Out of that test God gave me a testimony. 

Other tests have followed. Many much more severe. Out of those painful experiences God grew hope. My faith grew stronger. My testimony expanded. I look back on those unpleasant experiences like the charred pasture I saw with Jimmy. I hated those experiences. I doubted what God was doing back then. In each instance I can see how God grew hope in the garden of pain. I can see with each test God gave another testimony. 

Those testimonies have formed many of these blogs and the books I've written. Sermons I've preached are saturated with the stories of God's faithfulness. I can point people to  a gracious Savior who sustains in all seasons of life. 

I am confident I will have more tests before I die and so will you. In each one we will have the opportunity to trust God, gain new hope, and gain a new testimony. You can't have a testimony without some tests.