You Have A Story

Jesus’ baptism by John in Matthew 3, ends with a profound moment when God spoke over His Son, stating: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (verse 17). When reading this verse, I came to the realization that God didn’t need to do this for Jesus’ sake, because He knows who He is and where His belonging comes from. By speaking these words, God acknowledged His Son publicly for us to know the truth about Jesus. We are created with a desire to be known, heard and seen - to be acknowledged for who we are.  It’s not about wanting focus or attention on ourselves, but about feeling worthy, validated and noticed. This desire can ultimately only be met by the Lord and it’s this validation that gives us the boldness to take the next step. It’s about being ‘seen’ by our Creator God and about finding belonging in Him.

This brings me to our scripture for today and the Samaritan woman’s enthusiasm to share her experience. Her honest testimony touched many people, who then went out to meet Jesus for themselves and subsequently also became believers “...because of the woman who testified…”. All she did was to share her story and God did the rest. She didn’t prepare a sermon and possibly didn’t even think about how the people of the town would receive her testimony. She just acted from the abundance in her heart. Meeting Jesus and finding acceptance in Him, gave her the boldness to tell others about Him.

We all have a story to share. It could be a testimony about God’s faithfulness in our lives, or maybe it’s about how He is carrying us through a current struggle, or we could just tell others how we are holding onto Him through the storms of life. It doesn't mean that we have to bear our soul to everyone listening. We only need to share what the Lord is prompting us to share. From our obedience, He will do the rest.

Speaking in front of others doesn't come naturally for everyone and some people might even find it hard to ‘word’ what they are experiencing. But even if you share your story with one person, or a small group, it will still touch lives. Jesus fed 5000 people with one boy’s offering of  “...five small barley loaves and two small fish…” (John 6:9). Even the disciples didn’t think this was of any use, but all Jesus said was : “Have the people sit down…” And to this day we read in John 6:1-14 how God used what this boy offered in faith.

So may I encourage you to share your story, for the Lord sees you and He values your testimony. You might be thinking that your story is insignificant compared to other people’s testimonies and that it won’t impact anyone, but rather leave that to the Lord. Take heart and give that one step forward, remembering all the time that “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7 NKJV).