Are You Still in Your Story?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

•2 Corinthians 5:17

We all have a story we can share with others about ourselves. God tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully knit together (Psalm 139:13-14), and I believe we come with our story already written. Stories are meant to be lived out in this life, one step, one day at a time, and then shared with others along the way. Some stories are great. Some are hard. There are stories of triumph over tragedy, strength over weakness, captives being set free, and stories of great healing and deliverance.

From Genesis to Revelation, we read stories about Noah and his family being delivered from God’s severe punishment when He flooded the earth (Genesis 6). There is Moses, delivered from death when Pharaoh ordered for all Hebrew boys to be killed at birth; and later used by God to bring His people out of slavery (Exodus 1 & 14). David, a man after God’s own heart, being repeatedly delivered from his own sins, his enemies, and even his own son (1 Samuel). In the New Testament, there was Peter’s mother-in-law being healed of sickness and immediately having strength enough to rise and begin preparing a meal for everyone in the house (Matthew 8:14-15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39). The woman with the issue of blood miraculously being healed from years of non-stop bleeding after touching just the hem of Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43-48). Lazarus being healed from death itself and raised to life (John 11:38-44).

To some, these are just great stories to tell. To others, they are incredible testimonies of who God is and what He can do in the lives of sinful people. Imagine if none of those stories were ever told. What hope could we have that Jesus just might rescue or heal us? When we surrender our tragedy, weakness, captivity, or need for healing to Jesus Christ, we will transition from sharing stories about our lives to sharing testimonies of God’s faithfulness.

I believe a part of being “…transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:2) should include the transformation of our stories into God’s testimonies. But do they?

• Do our stories of grief, loss, hurt, betrayal, divorce, and all other various trials ever turn into joy and something gained?

• Does grief really stay with you for the rest of your life?

• Does depression ever turn into dancing with joy?

• Can failed marriages ever turn into healed hearts and restoration?

  
  

Just how many of us are stuck in our story?

Life certainly does not stand still when we are hit with trials. Rightfully so, we go into survival mode to get through the moment we are in and there is no time to surrender, rest, wait, or anything else that can create a testimony out of our shattered hearts and weary souls; our messes into miracles; our tests into testimonies. But after some time, our initial response can become a habitual way of living in the mediocrity of trudging through life, as we continue to carry the pain we have become so close with. We no longer have the strength or thought that we should believe for a testimony of healing and joy.

A story is about my life. A testimony is about God’s life. Whether our story ever turns into a testimony is entirely up to us. Understand, there is nothing wrong with our stories; stories are what make the testimony so powerful. But, just as Ecclesiastes 3 talks about there being a time to hurt, a time to be angry, a time to be in the moment that we find ourselves in. There is also a time to dance, a time to sing, and a time to rejoice. and if we never move into the later time, we miss God’s original intent of what we've walked through. In the end, if a person does not move from mourning to dancing, from sorrow to joy, from ashes to beauty, they kill the testimony God intended for them to possibly use as a platform to declare His magnificent glory. A new life in Christ consists of a transformation that can be painful and unbearable; yet at the end of it all, you only have Christ to behold. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is new life to be had for all of us in Christ.

What about you?

What is your story and are you experiencing or looking forward to God's testimony?

Be encouraged,

M