Come, see what God has done! How to find the story God gave you for your life

 

See the words in the image above? "God, you rescued me so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God." 

Can you say this about your life? 

Our church is leading towards a testimony night and our Pastor has made several requests for people to share their testimony on a Sunday sometime. Isn't part of discipleship sharing what God has done in our lives to inspire them to learn and anticipate what He will do in theirs?

And yet, no one has come forward just yet. 

I don't think he is surprised, and I'm not really surprised. 

But, I do wonder why. 

Is it because people aren't sure where to start or what to share? 

Is it because people would rather not come forward, stand in front of the congregation, and share something so personal?

I can understand that. 

Perhaps if you are younger in the faith, you aren't even sure what it was that brought them to Christ. It took me a long time (about 2-3 years) to sort out and articulate my testimony.  

Or, perhaps like most things, people are lacking the tool to help. What I mean is, would they benefit from a formula, a fill-in the-blank sort of paperwork, or something else that can guide them in recreating their story to share with the world? 

How to identify the "story" in your story 

Everyone has a story. If you've reached a certain age, you've no doubt gone through something that has shaped you into the person that you are today. 

Getting saved, coming to Christ, becoming a follower of Jesus, How interesting that being saved is all about transformation! And, the greatest story every told is the story of our Lord coming to earth and, well... transforming it.

If we were to look at the details of our salvation story, we might be able to pinpoint the exact moment we said yes to Jesus. By mapping out all of the after and comparing it to the before, and vice versa. 

The simplest story formula to remember is Beginning, Middle, End.  

Beginning - this is what you were doing before you got saved. 

Middle - what led you to getting saved, or the exact moment you got saved and what happened shortly after, or in the days, weeks and months after, the "newness" of it all

End - describe your life today. 2 Cor. 5:17 says you are a new creation in Christ. How have you been made new? What is different in your thinking, your entertainment, your lifestyle? Do you have new friends? How have others noticed you're different?

You can start with the moment that broke up your life of sameness and disrupted the normalcy (which is basically like starting the story in the middle). Authors refer to this as "in media res," Latin for "in the middle of things." 

For example, take Jay* who suffered from alcoholism for years, and it affected his marriage, finances, and work life. One afternoon, tired of the cravings for booze, he got down on his hands in knees in the foyer and called out "Lord, Save me!" Jay reports that his cravings went away and have never come back. Before surrendering, He had tried a number of things to stop drinking. 

The End is important to share details about what you are doing now, today, and maybe some stories so that people get a tangible idea of how life in Christ is different, and our God gets the glory no matter what.

In addition to Beginnings, Middles and Ends, there are two main components to every story: Plot and Story. The plot refers to what happens, the story is more about the character... and the inner change, what's happening within. That's again, the transformation. 

Some people refer to beginning as Act 1, the Middle as Act 2 and the end as Act 3, or close, or resolve. The plot without the story (the inner change) is unrewarding for your audience. What perks our ears about story is because I believe we our drawn to the very word; I know I am. From bedtime stories to Story Time to just the phrase "Let me tell you a story!" we automatically think yea, let's go, this has got to be good! 

It appeals on the gut level. It's why pastors tell and some worship leaders tell stories during sermons and before songs. They share personal stories, or Bible stories, or as a devotional style, a Bible story and then a personal story to show the application of scripture.

Why tell your testimony?

Lisa Kron, in her book says we humans are "wired for story" and from birth we understand the very nature and purpose of story is to connect. 

The storyteller (or testimony teller) connects with their audience, and the audience connects with the storyteller, but more than that the audience emerges changed on an emotional, psychological, and even visceral level as well. They don't just leave with knowledge, but with a sense that they too experienced the transformation. They leave moved. 

And, let's not forget the seed imparted to their minds and hearts, that will forever whisper the truth: If they can do it, I can do it too. 

Resources mentioned in post: 

About — LISA CRON (wiredforstory.com) (scroll down for info on both her books)

* Name withheld for privacy

Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

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