“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,”
Psalms 107:1-2
Several weeks ago while running a 50k race with some of my crazy ultra running friends, we discussed some of the newest “must-have” products on the market for long distance running like hydration powders, gels with natural sugars, the latest innovations in running shoes, and the newest GPS watches. “I can’t believe the battery life of this GPS watch I recently switched to,” my friend Ed said. Then he gave us a full and detailed review that included the fact that it had more than 40 hours of battery life in full GPS mode, was thinner than most of the others on the market, and was a fraction of the cost of the Garmin Fenix I was currently wearing. Ed’s testimony was persuasive and genuine! After all, he had acquired firsthand knowledge that obviously excited him and, in turn, excited us! So I decided to purchase one of the watches for myself. I wasn’t disappointed. Neither were my other friends who followed up on his heart-felt declaration of the goodness of his new watch.
It was everything he said it would be, and I was thankful I listened to him.
Our testimonies, as you can clearly see, have a lot of power in influencing another person’s decision to do something. Just this week, for instance, I had two people tell me they had purchased the shoes I had recommended and said they were exactly the model they had been looking for.
But it’s my testimony of the goodness of Jesus Christ that I like to share and recommend the most.
You see, there is nothing any person needs more in this world than to accept Jesus as their Savior, which is why each and every person “whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy” needs to be boldly, lovingly, and unashamedly sharing their story of redemption every chance they get.
So no matter what your life looked like before Jesus came along and made it new—whether it was good, bad or even downright ugly – “give thanks to the Lord” and “say so!” Make it your mission to share your firsthand knowledge of the goodness of God that someone else might seek Jesus because of your persuasive and genuine testimony. It will be the best thing they will ever do and you will have the blessing of seeing them in Heaven one day.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that many times the best way we can lead others to the foot of the Cross is through our testimony. Help us to be unashamed and bold in sharing how You changed our lives, Lord, especially in a world that is growing increasingly hostile to hearing the only Name that has the power to save. It’s in your precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen.
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
