MY STORY
I grew up in church. As such, I heard all the time about someone's testimony. I heard about how testimonies were powerful and led people to Jesus. The most powerful ones? The ones sure to lead tons of people to the Almighty? Those were the ones that took folks right to the brink of certain death, and then, miraculously, they had a Paul on the Road to Damascus experience, and BOOM! They knew Jesus in a way no one ever had, and they spent the rest of the their lives saving souls and growing the kingdom.
I didn't have one of those testimonies. I grew up feeling like I could never help to reach people for Christ because my story was so ... boring ... vanilla ... it lacked any of the those religious sprinkles.
I never had a life-altering experience (thankfully) that caused the trajectory of my life path to be forever altered. Nothing that would show that my life had swung dramatically from the depth of evil to the heights of heaven.
And so I just carried on.
I heard this song live a few months back, and it was as though I was hearing it for the very first time. While at a Big Daddy Weave concert with friends, I had a moment where God grabbed me and shook me and let me know ... Murray, You've Got a Story.
I sang the words out loud that night, like many of the other hundreds of people there in attendance .. .. and the lyrics resonated with me, but I still lacked the knowledge I think He was trying to get me to see. But it marinated .... each and every time it came on the radio, it marinated.
I have struggled greatly recently (I think the day I announce I've not struggled at all will be a greater revelation for all my readers ... all two of you), and I have really just wondered where things have gotten off kilter and how I would ever get it all back on kilter (is that even a thing??). And then I heard this song this morning, and it suddenly all made sense.
My life is messy. It's complicated and convoluted and busy and insane and demanding and boring and isolating and a million other adjectives you could come up with to merely reiterate the fact that my life is MESSY, and it's a wonder, with all the times I've decided to go rogue on God, He hasn't struck me down dead on the spot. But for the Grace of God I am here to tell my story.
It isn't a "took me from the brink of a drug-induced coma" story, but it's a story of grace and redemption and victory and the all-consuming love He has for me that He would gather me to Him in my sin and rebellion and love me despite it all.
I very rarely get IT right. In fact, if there is an option, I will most certainly get IT wrong. But somehow, through His grace and mercy, He is managing to make a story out of my story.
My story isn't a story without Him. In fact, as the song goes, to tell you my story is to tell of Him. And that, my friend, is the whole point.
I didn't have one of those testimonies. I grew up feeling like I could never help to reach people for Christ because my story was so ... boring ... vanilla ... it lacked any of the those religious sprinkles.
I never had a life-altering experience (thankfully) that caused the trajectory of my life path to be forever altered. Nothing that would show that my life had swung dramatically from the depth of evil to the heights of heaven.
And so I just carried on.
I heard this song live a few months back, and it was as though I was hearing it for the very first time. While at a Big Daddy Weave concert with friends, I had a moment where God grabbed me and shook me and let me know ... Murray, You've Got a Story.
I sang the words out loud that night, like many of the other hundreds of people there in attendance .. .. and the lyrics resonated with me, but I still lacked the knowledge I think He was trying to get me to see. But it marinated .... each and every time it came on the radio, it marinated.
I have struggled greatly recently (I think the day I announce I've not struggled at all will be a greater revelation for all my readers ... all two of you), and I have really just wondered where things have gotten off kilter and how I would ever get it all back on kilter (is that even a thing??). And then I heard this song this morning, and it suddenly all made sense.
My life is messy. It's complicated and convoluted and busy and insane and demanding and boring and isolating and a million other adjectives you could come up with to merely reiterate the fact that my life is MESSY, and it's a wonder, with all the times I've decided to go rogue on God, He hasn't struck me down dead on the spot. But for the Grace of God I am here to tell my story.
It isn't a "took me from the brink of a drug-induced coma" story, but it's a story of grace and redemption and victory and the all-consuming love He has for me that He would gather me to Him in my sin and rebellion and love me despite it all.
I very rarely get IT right. In fact, if there is an option, I will most certainly get IT wrong. But somehow, through His grace and mercy, He is managing to make a story out of my story.
My story isn't a story without Him. In fact, as the song goes, to tell you my story is to tell of Him. And that, my friend, is the whole point.
Comments