They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. Revelation 12: 11
My testimony is not pretty. Sometimes I am hesitant to share it and yet, I know God can use what is hideous, blemished, tarnished, broken, and dejected to bring about His glory. Imagine how much glory He also receives from a story of hope, provision, and protection. For me and my testimony, I find myself thinking about where I would be if I did not find Jesus. I know that there are many other places I could have ended up, I could have been homeless, completely depressed, suicidal, drug dependent and those are just a few things that come to mind. Thanks to God I am none of those things. He really did save me. I may not have had a healing of sickness in my life, but what He has done for my life is still miraculous.
I want to share a short testimony from the many that I have. In February 10, 2010. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and I had a need to spend time alone with God, so I put Star to sleep and as I sat on my bed, I started to speak to God, asking question and sharing my concerns, as I was weeping with my eyes closed I started to feel warm and my heart started to pound faster and when I tried to open my eyes, I couldn't, it was as if my eyes were sealed and right before me, I saw a movie projector and standing there were 2 women, these two women represented "ME" my old self and my new self in Christ. (I wrote about this the very same day because I didn't want to forget what I had seen and experienced, but I am only going to share part of it now)
My old self was interviewing my new and in the midst of it, I was being led to several doors and each door represented "my old self" and the different stages of my life, to name a few in every door, there was darkness, pain, rejection, hate, fear, and anger. But, beside my new self there was a image of a man but I couldn't see him but I knew he was there, he walked through each of those doors with us. Now that I am writing this, I remember that as we walked out of each door, the image of that man sealed shut the doors behind us. {Praise the Living God}
After walking through those painful doors, we came to the last one which was unknown to me, this one represented "my new self" but as "my old self" walked in, my hands were bound, my appearance was dirty, a strong odor of condemnation was all over me, I walked in looking down in shame. Standing there on my left was my accuser. He presented all my sins from my past and demanded that my soul be handed over to him. But to my right was the Righteous JUDGE. When he looked at me he felt compassion and love. He saw beyond the sins; he saw a woman of purpose; he saw a re-builder of broken souls and he spoke these very words:
(Isaiah 54) Don't be afraid, because you will not be ashamed. Don't be embarrassed, because you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame you felt earlier, you will not remember the shame you felt when you lost your husband. The God who made you is like your husband. His name is the Lord All-Powerful. The Holy One of Israel is the one who saves you. He is called the God of all the earth. You were like a wife who married young and then her husband left her. But the Lord called you to be his," I left you for a short time, but with great kindness I will bring you back again. My poor daughter, storms have hurt you, and you have not been comforted. But I will rebuild you with my righteousness and truth, and I will restore your spirit and purify you into the perfection for a new beginning and for the great fulfillment that is yet to come. All your children will be taught by the Lord, and they will have much peace. I will build you using fairness. You will be safe from those who would hurt you, so you will have nothing to fear. Nothing will come to make you afraid. I will not send anyone to attack you, and you will defeat those who do attack you. So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you. You will show that those who speak against you are wrong. Your victory comes from me. I the “I AM” have forgiven all your sins.
(Isaiah 54) Don't be afraid, because you will not be ashamed. Don't be embarrassed, because you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame you felt earlier, you will not remember the shame you felt when you lost your husband. The God who made you is like your husband. His name is the Lord All-Powerful. The Holy One of Israel is the one who saves you. He is called the God of all the earth. You were like a wife who married young and then her husband left her. But the Lord called you to be his," I left you for a short time, but with great kindness I will bring you back again. My poor daughter, storms have hurt you, and you have not been comforted. But I will rebuild you with my righteousness and truth, and I will restore your spirit and purify you into the perfection for a new beginning and for the great fulfillment that is yet to come. All your children will be taught by the Lord, and they will have much peace. I will build you using fairness. You will be safe from those who would hurt you, so you will have nothing to fear. Nothing will come to make you afraid. I will not send anyone to attack you, and you will defeat those who do attack you. So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you. You will show that those who speak against you are wrong. Your victory comes from me. I the “I AM” have forgiven all your sins.
As My Lord and Savior spoke his final verdict, he walked towards me . My hands became loose. As he embraced me, the warmth of His love and forgiveness poured over me like warm, fragrant oil. His sovereign deliverance flooded me with a peace that filled the whole room. At that very moment I was set free from my past and I began to praise and glorify my Righteous Judge. My Redeemer, My Comforter, My Healer, My Provider and My Savior. (Praise God) Those doors represented the painful memories of my past and that image of a man was JESUS, he was letting me know that He never left me nor forsaked me, he walked through each of those doors with me, through each chapter of my life He stood by me and saved me from the strongholds of Satan. What had remained within me was the residues of the painful memories that would not allow God to restore me completely, so my concerns and questions were answered that very day. So this is where the journey of my restoration began and it was and has been un-bearable at times but healing and restoration is a process that takes a willing heart to submit to the will of God, being obedient and endless time alone with God. Nothing that has happened for so many years, will be restored in a day but through each hurdle I overcome, a testimony is being birth.
To Conclude: You see when we share the story of God’s work in our life we are sharing our testimony, so our testimony needs to be something we own. It is OURS, not something that has been scripted for us. That’s exactly what God expects from every born again believer – to simply share the Good News, to share the story of how that Good News has changed us! He wants us to share our testimony. He wants us to be witnesses to what we have seen Him do in our lives. When you combine the blood of Jesus with your testimony of His goodness in your life, you will push beyond what you perceive as the limits of your faith … it’s powerful enough to kick down the gates of hell. You may not see it, but God promises that His Word will not return void. When you plant seeds, God will water them. So don’t hold back from sharing what God has done in your life. Tell others. Your testimony is important, but it’s not to glorify your past … it’s to glorify the God who gave you a future.
And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you. Exodus 14:16
I pray that Christ blesses you today with the chance to reflect on all the experiences you have had with Him in your life, and how beautiful your testimony is!!
May 21, 2013
