This month my team and I are living and serving at a church in Novi Sad, Serbia. Every Sunday we attend the evening service that the church puts on, and we help out by sharing a word that God has laid on our heart, a skit of some sort, or our own personal testimony.
Yesterday afternoon I began feeling as if God we’re leading me to share my testimony with the congregation. I gave Him my “yes,” and went to work right away typing my testimony up in my notes on my phone. After finishing it, I sent it to Kaitlin, one of my squad’s SQLs who is serving with my team this month, and asked her if she would read over it and let me know if I should change anything.
The day continued on as usual and as the service time drew near I went downstairs with my Bible and my phone to go find a seat in the sanctuary as I readied myself to be called up to share. I sat my Bible and phone down outside of the church’s kitchen, and went inside to wash a cup. I was probably gone less than five minutes, but by the time I returned my phone was gone. My stomach immediately dropped and it wasn’t paranoia that told me it had be stolen. I knew this was the case, and my first gut reaction was anger. It wasn’t even directed at the person who had stolen it, but more so at myself. “How could you be so stupid?” “This is your fault.” “What were you thinking?” And so on and so forth. Another thought that hit me pretty quickly was that my testimony was on my phone... There was no way I could get up there and share. God had given me the words so eloquently as I typed them earlier in the day and there was no way I could get up there without them. God is so good though, and He so gently reminded me that I had shared the note with Kaitlin earlier. I asked her if I could borrow her phone to share because I wasn’t going to let this minor inconvenience stop me.
Satan was trying to silence my testimony because he knows of the power it carries. He tried to distract me, to make me doubt myself, and to silence the words that God had given me to share. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I knew God had a purpose and a plan for everything that was happening, and that if the enemy was so scared of me sharing my testimony that he had to orchestrate my phone being stolen and send anxiety my way, than I most definitely had to share. Typically when a verse falls on my heart I am able to turn to google or the Bible app on my phone and just search what it is. I didn’t have that anymore. God laid a verse on my heart that He wanted me to share before I began giving my testimony. As I sat in the congregation as the worship band played, I closed my eyes and God said, “listen and trust me. Turn to Revelation 12:11.” I opened my eyes and flipped my Bible to read the words, “they have conquered him [the enemy] by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
Our stories that God has entrusted to us, our testimonies, have the power to conquer the enemy! Of course he’s scared of that, he should be terrified! My story was one of addiction that God transformed into redemption. God is using the darkness from my past to magnify His light. My story exalts His glory, and that’s something I will never stop talking about.
Never be afraid to share your story because you don’t know the impact that it could have on someone else. Your story matters and God entrusted it to you for a specific purpose and plan, so be bold as you own it my friends!
Below you’ll find the video of me sharing my testimony at church. Oh and PS... my phone was returned. God is good ALL the time, and ALL the time God is good!!! Love y’all!
-Meagan
https://youtu.be/zOkNaW3Guxs
