The Blood & The Word
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today we are going to be talking about one of my favorite things in the world: testimonies. Testimonies have such power. Sharing our testimonies is like reading from a chapter of a history book. Only, the history book is your life, each chapter a different season, and the author is the Lord. Today we are going to be looking at the Scripture verse Revelation 12:11 and talking about what that means for how we share our testimonies.
Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimonies”. Since this is in Revelation, the “him” that is referred to in this verse is the Enemy, and by sharing their testimonies, that is how they overcame him. What amazing power! But, that is not all this verse says about sharing testimonies. There are two parts to this. One of which is in your hands, and the other, you have no control over. Let’s talk about them.
The first one, like we have been discussing, is your part, your portion of this job. And that is to share your testimony. Whatever that looks like, wherever you may be, and whoever the Lord may lead you to share it with. This is the part that is up to you to obey (more on this later!).
There is also a second part. The second part is the blood of the lamb. So, it is up to us to share our testimony. We are the ones that put it out there, but we cannot always (or really ever) totally control how other people receive it. This is the part that is out of our hands. And…this is where the trusting comes in.
Now that we have broken down this verse into it’s two parts, I want to talk about the common thread that runs through this whole act of sharing our testimonies. And that, my friends, is courage. This courage shows up in two ways, for both of the parts.
The first aspect of courage is the kind that you’ll need for actually sharing your testimony. Putting that out there, telling other people what the Lord has done in your life is a super scary thing. There is a lot of fear and worry that can come with it. What if they don’t believe me? How will they receive it? Those questions in our minds can paralyze us with worry to the point of freezing up, and then the testimony never gets shared. It’s a very real struggle. I know there is also worry when it comes to the fact that this testimony, YOUR testimony, will no longer be just YOUR testimony. Now, other people know about it, and that means less and less control for you. That is a hard thing to come to terms with sometimes. But, just because the worry is there, just because it is scary, doesn't mean that it should stop you from telling people the amazing things that the Lord has done in your life. Think about it for a minute: if you know and you believe that God is calling you to share your testimony, He is going to want you to do it! But, there is someone out there too that does not want you to share it. Of course the Enemy is going to try to place worry in your mind which can get you to the point of not sharing it at all. And then he wins. This verse says that he was OVERCOME by the word of our testimonies, which means that the act of us telling others about God’s promises to us and His works in our lives literally defeats the Enemy. How great is that?! While it is great to us, it’s not something appealing to the Devil, though. He would rather not be overcome today, if I had to take a wild guess! So, he does everything in his power to scare us with the “what ifs”, which then render us silent…and ineffective. So, ask the Lord to give you courage to step up and speak the word of your testimony! He will give it you, but you have to be willing to accept it first.
Courage to tell our testimonies is not the only kind of courage we will need for this whole process. There are two parts to this, remember? The word of our testimonies, AND the blood of the Lamb. What does the blood of the lamb do in all this? Well, it sounds a bit abstract, but the blood of the Lamb is what takes our testimony, once we have put it out there, and applies it to everyone that hears it. We don’t know everyone’s story front and back, which means that we won’t know exactly in what ways our testimony will be used to speak to them. Maybe it’s the biggest thing that God has done in your life, or maybe it’s the tiniest detail that will be exactly what someone needs to hear to give them comfort on their journey. The thing is…we don’t know. We don’t know what will stick with them, or what they need to hear. So, once you have had the courage to put it out there, it’s time for more courage: the courage to take a step back and let God do the work. Now it’s time for His part, for His portion of the sharing. Only He knows the hearts of everyone you share your testimony with, Only He knows exactly what they need. So, time to let God be God. You can’t monitor your testimony once you put it out there. I know, I know, sometimes we really want to, but we can’t. We have to have the courage to step back and let God do the heart-work. He will, I promise! And you might not see the evidence of that right away. God has to get your testimony to settle in the hearts of the people that you have shared it with. That might take a day, that might take years. You might not even see the fruit of your sharing on this side of Heaven. But that’s okay. God’s got this. Have the courage to let Him do His part now.
To wrap all of this up, I wanted to share something with you that the Lord has always comforted me with since He began writing my testimony. He always says to me, “Megan, you have no idea what part of your testimony I am going to use to reach other people.” I love that, because it shows me that even the tiniest parts of my testimony that I so often overlook can be used to reach someone and even potentially bring them to Jesus one day. So, friends, share it all! If the Lord is calling you to share, step up to the plate and go all out! Don’t leave out a thing. Have the courage to tell what God has done. And then, have the courage to step back and let Him do the job of reaching people in the ways that they need. Only He can do that. And that doesn’t mean that you have to sit back and do nothing. Pray about it! Pray for the people that you shared your testimony with. But, (because I have fallen into this many times), don’t pray that the Lord will use your testimony in a way that YOU think they need. Pray that your testimony will be used in whatever way that THEY need. All you can do now is put them in God’s hands and let Him do the work. He knows what they need. And remember, it is your story, but God is always the main character. And the author, too :)
Lord, thank you for testimonies. Thank you that you have given me a beautiful and unique testimony that you want me to share. I pray that, when you call me to tell others about what you have done in my life, that I would have the courage to share, and then the courage to step back and let you do the rest. I pray for those that I have shared my testimony with and that I will share it with in the future. Only you know exactly what they need, so I put them in your hands and I pray that you would use my story to speak to their hearts in a way that you know they need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
