When I hear the stories of those who have come to Christ through incredible circumstances or from lives of incredible pain, my heart is always deeply moved. I hear those testimonies, and I am reminded that we serve a loving God who can change the hearts of the most angry, broken, and hurting people. Not only that, but He brings those people into Himself, offering them new lives of hope that lead into eternities of joy.
The impact of a salvation story is incredible — be it grippingly dramatic, beautifully sweet, or straight up astounding.
But my story isn’t like that. It’s not dramatic or sweet, and it’s definitely not astounding.
No, my testimony is yawn-worthily boring.
So when people tell me to go out and share the story of how the Lord saved me, I can’t help but feel a little silly and a little useless.
I mean, I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 5 years old. I grew up in church and in a Christian family. I had heard the name of Jesus since the day I was born… Where’s the story in that? How is that going to help a girl who escaped abuse, a boy whose parents abandoned him, someone whose spouse died of cancer or who struggles with addiction?
How can God use my story, so unrelated to those who are in places of real spiritual suffering, to reach people with the hope of the Gospel?
Well, there is really only one reason: My story isn’t about me.
While we tell testimonies in terms of the decision we made to turn away from our sins and toward the grace of Jesus, deciding to put our trust in Him, that’s not really the point.
The truly incredible and important part is about God. It’s about God loving each individual in the world enough that He came here and walked this Earth to die a cruel and unimaginable death for our sins. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
It’s about God longing for a relationship with us and giving us the hope of eternity.
That’s the story being told by the woman who came to Jesus after a life of miserable illness, by the notorious drug lord who was led to salvation in Christ, and also by me and by you.
No one salvation story is better than any other.
It’s the story of the same God and the same grace, and we should be sharing it.
1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…”
We have the opportunity to share with people the hope of a restored relationship with God and an eternity with Him in Heaven. No matter what hard circumstances someone is going through here in this life, this is the hope they need more than any other. You can show them what it is that they are desperately longing for.
How? How can we share hope with those who are hurting in ways we could never understand?
- Listen. Hear their story and hear their hurt. Even if we have never been through what others have been through, we can offer compassion and God’s love.
- Be generous. With your time and your energy, be willing to go the extra mile to show God’s love to those who may have trouble understanding it because of their circumstances.
- Love them. Ask God to give you a deep, genuine love for people and a compassion that only He can put into your heart.
- Pray for wisdom. Ask God to give you the words that this person needs to hear right now. He is the One that knows them best.
- Tell the truth. Share your testimony. Be honest about the fact that you don’t understand their situation, but remind them that God does. Tell them the whole truth — let them know that they are a sinner in desperate need of a Savior, but that the Savior loves them desperately and overwhelmingly.
We are each a sinner saved by grace. We have the Holy Spirit working in us and through us and we have the Bible, God’s own words. We have everything we need to share love and to share truth with the world around us.
And never be ashamed of your story. It is a beautiful picture of an unfathomably merciful God!
Meredith is the wife of an amazing husband, a lover of travel and baking, and a servant of the King of Kings. She writes at Life Along the Way, a project created with her husband as a place to share the ups and downs of their lives following Christ and to explore what it means to live life based on the Bible. Connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram!
Susan says
Thanks for sharing. My testimony is kinda plain. In fact, since I was saved at 5 I don’t remember a lot of details. Because of that I struggle with being confident in my faith. Any suggestions on how to become secure in my salvation so I can share it with more people. Your insight is greatly appreciated.
Meredith says
Hey Susan!
Thanks so much for commenting!
Thankfully, the Bible is so clear about salvation that we can be absolutely certain that we are saved and why. And that’s exactly the truth that others need to hear from us as well. I guess my advice would be just to read through the truths the Bible lays out about salvation and remind yourself of what the gospel really is. Then you can be confident in your own faith and in your ability to share it with others.
And like you said, it starts with being secure in our own salvation. So, here is what the Bible says about it:
No matter what age we are when we accept Christ, or whether we remember exactly how it happened, we know that salvation comes from the acknowledgement of a few things:
1. We have to know that we are sinners — we regularly put our own desires over God’s plan for our lives. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
2. We can’t have a relationship with God because of our sin, and we can’t fix our sin problem on our own. (See Romans 3:23 again). Because of our separation from God and our choices to disobey Him, we know we deserve Hell. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Jesus is God and He paid the penalty that we deserved for our sins. The rest of Romans 6:23 says, “… but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” and 1 Peter 2:24 says that Jesus, “…Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
If we believe those things, the Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
So, even if you don’t remember all of the circumstances, if you are certain that you are a sinner and that Jesus is the only way to be cleansed from sin and to have a right relationship with God, and you have confessed your need of a Savior to God, you can know FOR SURE that you are saved!
And we are saved forever — the Bible says that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell with us and that He seals us for salvation for the rest of eternity. Ephesians 1:13-14 say, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
It says right there, if we trust that Jesus has paid for our sins and have asked Him to save us, we are guaranteed an inheritance in Heaven with God!
And those truths are all that you need to know to share the message of salvation with others too : ) It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge, or even a memory of your exact story. Just knowing that you have been saved by grace through Jesus is exactly what people need to hear!
I hope that helped! If that didn’t answer your question or if you have more, please feel free to ask more either here or in email ([email protected])