This past weekend I had the pleasure of hearing so many exciting and encouraging testimonies and just the other day as The Saturday PM we gave y’all the opportunity to share what God had done and is doing in your lives. Testimonies encourage other believers and keep us (testifiers) in a continuous state of thanksgiving. I, and I know that many other Christians have struggled with this issue of giving testimonies because many times it always comes off like you are ‘’showing off’’ more so, when it is something really grand and so we choose to remain silent about what God has done or we ‘downplay’ what God has done in attempt to make it look like it’s not really that big of a deal (and yet secretly in our hearts we know just how long we have been praying and fasting about it). That is an even worse stance to take because if we are not giving God the glory, then who is receiving it? You? Me? God forbid!! Granted, even Jesus after performing a miracle sometimes would tell people to go be keep quiet about it and others to go to the priest or to go and tell their families. Funny thing is that even those he told to be quite, would go shouting in the streets about what Jesus had done!!! Shouldn’t that be the case today? That we are so dumbfounded by God's miracle working nature that we cannot help but shout about it at the mountain top?

So what has changed? Why have we allowed ourselves to become so squeamish about giving our testimonies? Why have we chosen to not give God the glory? Is it possible that by keeping mum we have denied people the opportunity to know our God? Have we denied ourselves the chance to see unbelievers stand amazed and bow down in worship of such an amazing God? A God who chooses to bestow His children with every good gift? How many times have you been in a church service where the Pastor literally has to cajole people to give a testimony? Isn’t it time we re-think this! It does not matter what format our testimony takes neither does it matter how many people we reach (although personally I think the more the merrier) because God’s word says that this is one of the ways that we can be assured that the enemy is defeated. By testifying, God assures us that we shall overcome!!! Don’t you want to overcome Satan?

Personally, one of the reasons why I withhold any testimony is because I do not want to lay myself bare before people. There is a certain ‘image’ that I have created that makes people imagine that I am perfect and more often than not, testifying means that I allow people to see through my weaknesses and imperfections. The testimonies that involve a deeply personal issue are the very same ones that carry the power to change people’s lives. I took time the other day to listen to Pastor Donnie Mcclurkins testimony and I was simply awed by what God can do. At the end of it, Donnie Mcclurkin says he went through all that so that someone else doesn’t have to go through the same thing and he does not even flinch when as he talks about it. He holds on to No shame because Jesus Christ bore his shame at the cross, do you believe that Christ bore your shame?

The apostle Paul in Corinthians talks about a thorn in his flesh that God refuses to remove; after which you find a verse that has blessed me immensely in the recent past;

...therefore I will boast all the more about my weaknesses because God's power is made perfect in my weakness.

This means that our weak areas are opportunities for us to experience the amazing power of God. When this realization dawned on me I lay before God all my imperfections and asked him to glorify himself through them. When you do that you are basically setting the stage for a testimony and you must testify because another person’s soul could very well be dependent on your testimony…and that is how we overcome the evil one. Testimonies win souls for the Kingdom of God and because the souls of men are God’s bottom line, we should be continuously testifying. If you could win just one soul to Christ by your testimony, wouldn’t you want to do it?
When my pastor was talking about this she said that, in giving testimonies many fail to share the process they went through up to that point of testifying so that it seems like God worked it out overnight (which I know is very much possible). Many times however, the real encouragement to other believers is in the process! So the stakes just got raised, not only are we to testify, but we are to testify in as much detail as possible so that our brothers and sisters in Christ are encouraged. Have you ever heard a believer testify about how God did something in their lives which happened to be the very same thing that you were trusting God for? Would it make a difference if you knew exactly how God did it for them? I personally would love to know (and no, I’m not trying to be all up in their business). Sure, God can snap His fingers and make miracles happen, but many times it takes much longer; and therein lays a great testimony.

So after much thought, I listed the below guidelines that help me in sharing any testimony. No, testifying ought not to be a ‘science’ but a way of life but because I personally have failed many times in it, I had to do this. When testifying;

• Let it be clear, to whom the glory goes because our God is a jealous God.
• Be sure to check your hearts motives and intentions; are you seeking to encourage or are you seeking to stir up feelings of jealousy in your brethren?
• Always mention the impossibility of the ‘miracle’ was it not for God’s intervention. Would it have happened without God? If it happened by ‘your own strength’ then who should we glorify?
• Talk about the lessons you have learned. Sometimes the reason God says wait is so that we can learn a couple of things in the process. That could be the very same lesson that other believers need to learn, so why not give them a head start?

This list is in no way conclusive, neither is it from an expert; it’s just from one sojourner to another because we cannot walk this walk alone.
Praise him in advance
I started writing this post as a way for me to give my testimony but God had other plans. That is not to say that I am not going to give my testimony… I am; it just might take a little longer. I have been trusting God for a particular thing for a long time, and even though it is yet to manifest in the physical, I know it is just about to and boy oh boy hasn’t the process been an interesting one. So I praise him in advance, because I know he has done it. Like Elijah when he prayed for the rain…his servant saw a cloud the size of a fist but Elijah saw a downpour and started to run for cover. I have also seen a cloud the size of a fist…but I am getting ready for that downpour and you will be my witnesses. My goal is to encourage you, to uplift you because I sort for the same but I did not find it, so keep it here!
The bible also says that He (God) will not put to shame the man (you and me) that puts his hope in Him (God)! Be encouraged guys, for as long as your hope is in the Lord God almighty He will surely bring it to pass and then it will be your turn to testify! Amen!

I want the whole world to see, just how good He’s been to me; and through my testimony…they’ll see and through my testimony… they’ll believe.

YOUR TURN!

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