Every Story A Testimony
Every testimony comes from adversity where God had the opportunity to prove He is FOR US.
And some of you know that’s true because you’ve lived through some adversity and you’ve got a story to tell.
Recently I’ve been reading the stories that many from our church family have been sharing about how there was a time in their life when, looking back, they can now see God was with them and God was for them.
Stories like this one someone recently shared…
“I recently went through a time of stress and uncertainty. I did not have a job and had high anxiety. But God sent me friends, family, and a church family who spoke truth to me. When I needed a hug from God, they hugged me in His name. They were His presence in my life by allowing Him to work through them.”
What a testimony. Here’s another…
“Years ago, with a young family, I suddenly lost my job. I was very, very worried about our financial future. But God was with me. Our church family was so compassionate and blessed us with support and encouragement. Since that time, I have never felt fear for that type of loss. I know from that experience God will be with me and my family through any experience.”
What a testimony. How about this one…
“During a time of uncertainty and infertility when my faith was weak, God never left my side. I was so afraid of the future, but God was already there.”
What a testimony. Listen to this one…
“In a period of anxiety and great heartache for someone close to me, I was covered in prayer and encouragement. My prayers were not answered in the way I thought I needed, but the feeling of relief and the feeling of God saying, “I got you, you are surrounded” was overwhelming. I knew God was standing for me.”
What a testimony. Here’s one more…
“When my marriage failed and I had to raise my kids all by myself, I know God was for me. Paying rent, paying for daycare, paying the car note, buying food, and clothes, it was all a struggle. But God kept me when I had no one and no help. Now looking back, I know it was God all the way.”
It seems like every testimony always has a, “But God,” moment.
“But God”
What happens for a lot of us is that we get right up to that “BUT GOD” moment and we give up before we give God a chance to show up.
We don’t have a testimony because we jumped in to answer our own prayers before we gave God a chance to answer our prayers.
We couldn’t wait on His timing so we took things into our hands to work things out as best we could in our timing.
We didn’t trust God to work all things together for our good and for His glory so we did our best to work things out for our good and maybe He’ll get some glory, too. Maybe not.
A lot of us experience trouble and hardship and problems and we wonder IF God still loves us. We wonder because IF He really loved us, would we be going through what we’re going through? Dealing with what we’re dealing with? Would it really be this hard IF God loved us?
Sometimes we forget…
That moment when we face difficulty is not evidence of God’s absence but an opportunity to experience God’s presence.
Living in the IF
I think that’s why Paul, some 2000 years ago, wrote these words to the Christians living in the ancient city of Rome.
Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 8.35-39:
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us IF we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
Did you hear the question?
Does it mean he no longer loves us IF… ?
Some of us are living in the middle of the IF.
IF I’m having trouble…
IF I’m facing a difficult time…
IF I’m sick…
IF the one I love is hurting…
IF I have a prodigal son or daughter…
IF I’m being threatened…
IF I’m hurting…
Does that mean God no longer loves me IF?
We sometimes think this way, don’t we?
When bad things happen to us we wonder where God is and if he is there we wonder if He cares.
We think, because we don’t understand and because we can’t make sense of our situation, that God must not be real, or He must not care, or He has turned away from us.
More often than not we live in the IF.
And we’ve convinced ourselves that apparently there are some things that can separate us from God’s love. Because right now, the love of God feels a million miles away.
IF you’ve ever asked a question like that it does NOT mean you are a bad Christian. It means you are human.
AND… IF you’ve ever asked a question like that, or you’re asking it right now… listen to Paul’s answer to that question…
Does it mean he no longer loves us if…?
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
The difficulty you face in life, whatever it is, is not evidence of God’s absence, it’s opportunity for you to fully rely on and experience God’s presence!
And what’s more… at the end of your hardship, your pain, your problem, your difficulty, is VICTORY! Not just, we barely made it by…
NO! It’s better than that.
At the end of your journey is overwhelming victory. It’s not even close. We’re talking a landslide victory here. A no doubter.
This is the reason WHY you can hold on to HOPE in the middle of the valley of the shadow of death.
Because God is WITH YOU. God is FOR YOU. And in the end, GOD WINS.
This is the message of the CROSS! This is the message of the EMPTY TOMB. This is the message of EASTER!
Paul writes…
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What do you do in the middle of the IF?
When you’re wondering IF God is really for you? When you’re asking, Does it mean he no longer loves us if…?
You remember…
The difficulty you face in life, whatever it is, is not evidence of God’s absence, it’s opportunity for you to fully rely on and experience God’s presence!
Today, here’s what I want you to think about. If God loves you this much, what could ever separate you from him?
This is the message of the CROSS. This is the message of the EMPTY TOMB.
Romans 8 begins with NO CONDEMNATION and it ends with NO SEPARATION!
Jesus himself said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3.16
Remember…
This is why some 2000 years ago Jesus allowed himself to be betrayed into the hands of wicked men and he allowed himself to be crucified.
On that night when he was praying, “Not my will, but your’s be done,” in the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers came with torches to arrest him, he already knew Judas would betray him with a kiss. This man he had spent 3 years with would trade his life for 30 pieces of silver.
He knew the religious leaders that despised him so much would slap him across the face. Though he had done no wrong they treated him like a criminal. They hated him. He loved them. He knew that he would need to forgive them, they didn’t know what they were doing.
He knew he would wear a crown of thorns and he knew he would have to carry his own cross. All this suffering. All this pain. He was willing to endure. He knew his mother would be there at the foot of the cross crying her eyes out as she witnessed the nails in his hands and his feet.
And he knew that he would enter the darkness of the tomb. He was betrayed in the hands of wicked men and crucified. And on the third day, on Sunday after the darkest Friday the world has ever known He would rIse again!
WHY? Why did he suffer. Why did he die? Why did he rise again?
So you would know,
There is no condemnation.
There is no separation.
FOR US!
GOD IS FOR US.
He arose so you could know, God is For You. God is For Us.
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