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Tell it like it is!

Most of the testimonies we hear stress the positive change that Jesus makes in a person’s life: and that’s great! But there’s a temptation we need to face here: for the story is not always rosy. Sure, we can celebrate the grace of forgiveness, we can rejoice about the burdens of guilt being lifted, and new beginnings of hope which have dawned. God’s grace is marvellous, so tell people about it!

Interestingly, however, our testimony needs to be honest with life’s hard and sharp bits as well. We are still fallen people: we still live in this world. We are not yet in the next. If you look through the last 2000 years of church history, we never see followers of Jesus without struggle and hardship. We never see the church at ease. They simply never ‘arrive’ this side of heaven. And when you look at Jesus’ life and ministry, we observe that far from enjoying comfort and ‘success’, he has nowhere to lay his head, his companions let him down, and ultimately reject him. Even His glory comes only through the crucible of unimaginable suffering. So who are we to imply that following him is the end of a person’s problems? That is a very bad idea.

So, tell it like it is! Give glory to God for all he has given you in His Son, but remember this: your story will only be weakened if you pass over suffering and struggles.

Surely the power of the Gospel is found in the words of the Psalmist “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” To me that is one of the most remarkable things about God: he is with us in struggle and pain. He comforts and guides us right there in death valley. We are never alone!

Think about it: which one rings most true, “I am a Christian and all of my problems are over…” or “I am a Christian, and even though I still have major struggles, I am not alone, God is with me, and he helps me every day”. Let me hear the latter any day!

So keep it honest, friends. Let people hear your vulnerability, and allow them to sense the difference Jesus makes in your times of pain, tears, and weakness. Then the focus will be on him, and not on you. And that’s the way it should be. There’s only one happy ending that matters, and it’s the big one in the new heavens and the new earth.

Do you have a story of how God upholds you in pain? Why not send it through?