Tell The World What God Has Done

Deuteronomy 26: 5-10 - You must then say in the presence of the LORD your God, 'My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live in Egypt. His family was few in number, but in Egypt they became a mighty and numerous nation. When the Egyptians mistreated and humiliated us by making us their slaves,  we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors. He heard us and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression.  So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power, overwhelming terror, and miraculous signs and wonders.  He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey!  And now, O LORD, I have brought you a token of the first crops you have given me from the ground.' Then place the produce before the LORD your God and worship him.

 

Moses was reminding them that they should never forget the unique story that told how God had saved them…sustained them…done mighty miracles for them….and brought them to a place overflowing with goodness.  He wanted them to at least remember it once a year…to preserve the special testimony of the Israelites.  Each year at the Festival of the First Fruits…they were to prepare a basket with the finest of their harvest…and give it to the priest…and tell this story of grace and mercy and power to the priest.

 

The passage reminded me how powerful our own testimonies are to the growth of our own relationship with God. I remember the first time I shared just a portion of what had done for me at a Celebrate Recovery meeting. The cleansing ...healing tears flowed freely as I recorded on paper the way I God had sustained me through the divorce issues and the death of my second husband…way sooner than I ever thought…in spite of the way I had put my relationship with God on hold for many years.

 

Your testimony of God’s work in your life…once you have claimed it…can be used of God to help others. For as I spoke those words of God’s great mercy and grace to others…it became a tool of not just my recovery and healing…but a light and hope to others that had similar hurts.  God will use every mistake you made and repented of to show others that their excuses to not have God in their life have no merit.  God will use your testimony to show others that if we come back to him...his power and strength will become ours as well.

 

Your testimony can also be a powerful tool of worship and praise.  Remember how the man in Luke 17:16-19 ran back to thank Jesus …. "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,  And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?   There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.   And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole"

 

I encourage you to at least take out a journal and list the many things God has done for you….then include in your prayers a willingness to God to share it with someone…that God might preparing to hear your words of how God saved you…sustained you…did miracles for you…even gave you blessings beyond your wildest dreams. You will be humbled…and realize that nothing you have accomplished was of your own merit…but that everything you have become is a direct result of the testimony of your past.

 

Father…my human thanks is all you ever asked for …but it seems so weak and insufficient for all that you have done in my life. I realize that I could never find a way to ever pay you back…so I will just let my thanks be simple.  Help me father to never forget all that you have done for me.  Continue to build my faith as you help me to share the power you have given me to overcome the depression and hurt of divorce…the loneliness of losing a spouse to your wonderful Heaven…and the everyday struggles of everyday life. Let me do as you commanded the man in Luke 8:38-39… The man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too, but Jesus said,  "No, go back to your family and tell them all the wonderful things God has done for you." So he went all through the city telling about the great thing Jesus had done for him.” Amen.