And yet, it’s a scary thing to share our testimony. People
like to be liked. We like to have people think the best of us. We like to put
on a good show for the world no matter what is really going on in our lives. We
think it makes us look bad or weak or undesirable if we share the truth of
ourselves, the whole truth with nothing held back. But God doesn’t work the way
the world works. If we share our testimony when He has told us that someone
needs to hear it, in some inexplicable and supernatural way all the natural
laws change their course of action. Something that caused us shame in our past
becomes the glory of God and light and life to a listener who needs to hear our
story so they can know the love of God in their own.
In Revelation 12:10-12 we read, “Then I heard a loud voice
in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of God
and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of the brethren has
been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they
overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For
this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and
the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing
that he has only a short time.”
That is an amazing passage when you take it apart and think
about what it is telling us. The salvation and power and the kingdom of God,
and the authority of His Christ have come – why? Because of the blood of the
Lamb and word of the testimony of the brethren, or born again believers in
Christ. The accuser of the brethren, satan, has been thrown down – why? Because
of the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony of the brethren. The next
line, “and they did not love their life even when faced with death” – that speaks
to not only our physical life and death, but also of those things that we love
in life, wanting approval, wanting to be liked, wanting to be desired and
wanted and chosen and accepted by other people. Even when faced with the death
of those human desires, they “did not love” them “even when faced with (their)
death” - they did not cling to them, but let them go because their testimony before God meant so much more. And then verse 12 comes, “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you
who dwell in them” – why? Because the believers did not love their life even
when faced with death. Because they glorified God rather than themselves. And finally we read, "the devil has come down to the earth and
the sea having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time" – why does he
know that he has only a short time and why is he so full of wrath? Because of those same believers who
overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Those same believers who insisted in glorifying God.
That’s powerful stuff. We can throw down satan from his
strongholds simply by giving our testimony. Simply by telling the truth of what
God has done in our lives all of those miraculous events begin to unfold. Great
rejoicing and power and salvation and the authority of Christ come into the
world when we speak the truth and tell someone what God has done in our lives.
So of course the enemy will come and say, “Shhhh. You don’t want anyone to know
about that. You’re different now, so why should you ruin your chances and tell
people about that?” It’s so easy to think we need to hide our testimony. After all,
God forgave us of all of our sins and washed them all away in the River of
Forgetfulness, so why should I drag them up to tell someone about them now?
But it is the very fact that God forgave them that makes our
testimony so powerful and such a life giving serum to someone who does not
understand that there is nothing that God cannot forgive and no one that God
does not love. When we tell someone our testimony and they look at our changed
lives – our faces without lines and our eyes clear of pain – when we let
someone know that we were just like them once and now we are changed, not
because of what we have done but because of what God has done, when we are
honest about our own weaknesses and mistakes and issues, we show how good God
is and how He can transform a life and make all things new. Our testimony makes
us a walking testament to the glory of God, a testament to His love, His mercy,
His grace and His miracles.
Speaking the truth about our testimony also relieves us of
the shame attached. When we hide something in darkness it can get worse and
worse. When you think about a wound that is allowed to fester under a bandage
without being allowed to be cleansed and given light and air, that is the image
we can think of with the wounds caused by our transgressions and sins. But when
we bring them out into the light of Christ, when we offer them up to Him and
give Him the truth of who we are, He takes our sacrifice and makes it holy. This
is one of the mysteries of God. The blood of the Lamb washes over the word of
our testimony and we are made clean and whole while those who hear our words
are cleansed and made whole also.
Romans 8:1 tells us, “Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit.” When we have walked after the flesh and have come to
know Him who is Spirit, when we have that testimony to share, we have truly
overcome when we are able to share it. When instead of wanting to put on a good show we let the truth be known, we can help someone else to overcome as well. And isn't that really the best show of all? Rejoicing in heaven, the salvation and power and glory of the kingdom of heaven and the authority of Christ sounds like a winner to me.
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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