What’s Your Story?

Scripture:

Psa. 107:1 ¶     O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
        for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psa. 107:2     Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
        those he redeemed from trouble
Psa. 107:3     and gathered in from the lands,
        from the east and from the west,
        from the north and from the south.

Observation:

Over and again we discover the Psalmist being overcome with praise and thanksgiving to God.  Remembering the attributes of God, he praises the LORD for his nature and his love which endures forever. This is the underlying theme and the foundation onto which we may all hold.  God is good — and his love endures forever.

Once this is established it’s time to tell the story. Let those whom the Lord has redeemed tell their story! He has saved his people and brought them out from trouble. He has gathered them from the places where they were alone and at the hands of the enemy. With trouble surrounding us, God has become our refuge and our rescuer.  Tell the story!

Application:

There was a time when we would have old-fashioned “testimony” services.  This is when people would stand up and tell the story of what God had done in their lives — how he had redeemed them — so that God would get the praise and the glory.  Somehow those events have become fewer and far between, and I’m afraid it may be because we don’t have a story to tell, or because we don’t feel comfortable telling our story. 

But why not join the Psalmist and “give thanks to the LORD?!” 

Having been raised in a Christian home, I never did live a life of “wicked” sinfulness.  I was a good girl and tried to be obedient. Church was a regular part of my life. However, the older I got the more I came to the realization that this faith of my parents had to be more than just my parents’ faith. I would have to seriously contemplate whether I believed these things that I had heard from my childhood and whether I would follow the LORD.

I will never forget the day that I was at a teen camp and was having a wrestling match inside of me. I have no idea what was talked about that night but I now know that God, in his grace, was reaching out to me in a powerful way. I fought because I had my own ideas of how I wanted to live my life. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to follow in the same path as my parents. I walked out of that service and ran into one of my friends outside. I told her how I was feeling. She said she was feeling the same way, struggling deeply inside. Finally I told her that I was going to go back in and pray, that I needed to settle this thing and I was ready to walk with the Redeemer! I did and that night, at the age of thirteen, my life began a trajectory that kept me close to him. He gathered me in, even though I had not wandered away too far — yet. Along the way I’ve learned much about his love, falling in love with him over and over and over again.

The Lord is good — and his love endures forever!

Join me in telling your story. Our world needs to hear the way in which God is working these days.

“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so.”

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for calling me back into a tabernacle that night so long ago.  Amen.