Thursday, May 10, 2012 - Don't SaveThe Best for Last

Woe is me, my bird is dead.
So woe is me, I hold my head.
We were so close, my bird and I.
Now he is gone and sad am I.
But God is good.

The problem with believers swapping testimonies is our tendency to get caught up in the gory details so we never get to the point.  What is the point of a testimony? to testify to God's purpose, Power and Presence during the tough time, but we generally spend our listener's attention span on how bad it was: the abject pain, the unparalleled loneliness, the impossibilities of what God called us to face. Then, when their eyes start to glaze over or their eyes shift to the nearest clock, we remember the point we should be making and throw in a "But God is good. He saw me through." 


And where exactly does the spotlight shine in this kind of "poor me" testimony? On us for 99.99% of the time and on God for the last .01%.  The Apostle Paul knew how to give a testimony and  provides a great example in the first verses of 2 Corinthians.  He prepares his readers to accept what he's about to share by first praising and glorifying God for His mercy,  comfort and purpose so they know what they're listening for in the testimony:


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ."


Next Paul gave them a general but adequate idea of what he and his fellow missionaries experienced in Asia:

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death."

Paul included his fellow sufferers in his testimony so it wasn't all about "poor Paul." He didn't get off track by sharing too much information at this point, but whet their interest to hear the main point.  He didn't candy-coat the circumstances, but he didn't drone on and on about them either. He shared what his readers needed to know to understand the greatness of God's Power.  

"But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us,"

In just two sentences, Paul gives God credit for having a purpose for the "great pressure" they suffered, gives Him glory for delivering them with His great Power, and states his trust that God can and will continue to deliver them.

And, just as Paul used included those who'd been with him in Asia in his testimony, Paul makes draws his prayer supporters in as well:  "as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."   (all verses from 2 Corinthinans 1:3-11)

   We rob other people when we don't tell them our stories of God's Power and purpose in our lives, but we rob them of the Best and Crucial part when we save the Best for last and then skimp on it. 

Father, teach us to testify so You alone are glorified. Our pride struggles to keep the spotlight on ourselves as the heroes of the story and we waste opportunities to point to You. Forgive us and help us follow Paul's lead in keeping the Best part of the testimony in every part of our testimony.

In the Name of Jesus, the Reason we have a story to tell