speak up
March 2, 2010
I keep thinking about this much-familiar verse—
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
I’ve never really thought much about the phrase “word of their testimony” before now.
I think I always just took it to be synonymous with simply “their testimony”.
But there is a key difference.
Having a story of redemption and deliverance isn’t enough. It’s the telling of my story that brings victory.
As I put words to what God has done in my life, I continue to overcome.
But if I keep it to myself, God doesn’t get glorified in it and I don’t move forward in my own healing and restoration.
We have to put words to our testimony.
You’ve got a story to tell.
Tell it.
That is one of my absolute favorite things to teach on when I’m talking about overcoming our enemy. We can shut. him. up because of not only what Jesus did, but by our TELLING of what Jesus did. He can’t fight it. He can’t stop it, and he can’t take it from us. Booyah, Devil!
@gritandglory says:
“booyah, devil!” — ha! love that!
Thanks hon. I needed this tonight. Love you.
@ventigrace says:
Yes & amen, my kitty. I’m so proud of you for speaking up when so many external pressures told you not to. Love you.
I think my problem is I’m still looking at my story as what I did and how I messed up not what He did and how he healed us. I am defiantly not a fan of speaking up when it comes to this but you do have a point. Thanks for pointing this out.
@gritandglory says:
i already see you stepping out more in this area, friend.
Words are powerful. I totally agree.
@bahava says:
mmm, so good and so true that victory is fully found in the telling of the story….I’ve found that for me often there are the stories I tell already and then there are stories that are still brewing waiting to fall on listening ears to bring even more victory…
Hmm…
AMEN! Because of my past, and the things that happened, I felt traped and ashamed. It was by telling my story, That I gained victory over it. It kept me silent and ashamed. Allthough I don’t normally just share my story with everyone, I have shared it openlly. This has given me freedom. Freedom to serve God and freeedom from shame.
@gritandglory says:
“freedom from shame” — so, so powerful!
@coloraturajoy says:
Amen, amen, a thousand times AMEN!
@elainaavalos says:
Amen!
@Nomadstacey says:
Way to dive into the risk AND challenge others to risk as well! I know that unless I tell others about my past I do not fully appreciate how intricately interwoven God is with my story. Saying it out loud makes it seem real and purposeful.
@atangie says:
That is why I like blogging so much.
@bajanpoet says:
Agreed! My blog became my voice. I have certain people (including my wife lol) who tell me I share too much of my story. As much as I understand that she’s a more private person than I am, and I have to respect her – telling my story (I really try to not divulge HER side, if I can help it) has opened up my understanding in a whole new way.
I understand that I am not alone – there are so many people of faith (much more than I realized) who are dealing with the aftermath of affairs.
I understand that God is a healer in a whole new way – reading the stories of people who are farther along in the journey than I am gives me hope.
I understand the struggle from the other side – reading this blog, especially, I understand in a whole new way what my wife was going through as I read the heartbreak in Alece’s words …. as well as the triumph of God’s restoration process.
I understand that MY story can and HAS helped others.
I understand the meaning of true friendship. I have seen God meld my heart to others in the blogosphere so completely because of sharing my story and sharing in other stories. Some of my most fervent intercessors and friends have come alongside me BECAUSE I was sharing my stories of what GOD has done through my blog… and they have stayed through my trials to be – dare I say it – family.
You’ve spoken truth here, my dear – the TELLING of the story DOES bring victory.
And crushes the adversary of our souls to the dust!
And God gets the glory – because the same story that the Accuser would try to use to shame us – GOD USES FOR RESTORATION AND HEALING!
Wow. I have to let that sink in a bit.
As Joseph told his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but GOD meant it for GOOD….”
@bajanpoet says:
Wow… this wasn’t supposed to be THIS long!
I have been thinking about that verse and the truth and strength in it. WOW! Everytime I tell my story, I am my joy and sense of security return. And, oh how I pray it will inspire and direct others toward Him!
Here are parts of my story … my Dad was murdered by his best friend over a lie when I was 11. I never felt important or valuable (due to satan, not my precious mom) and thus made multiple wrong choices particularly in dating and friendships. I was not pure. I drank. I partied and then I went to church on Wednesdays and Sundays. When I got into college I went through phases of doing the right thing. Same after graduating college. What stopped my sexual behavior was the threat of AIDS. I married at 34 and left all that behind. LIttle did I know I married a man with a problem with fidelity. He cheated on me multiple times and finally admitted it when the Holy Spirit convicted him one Sunday. We tried to get help. Our help sucked, thank you satan. Several years later, he left me and our girls for another woman. This is where God changed my life/our lives. I gave it to Him. I worked on me. I struggled, cried, fought, released, prayed, was persecuted by well-meaning christians, but still held on to the word the Lord gave me that this journey was about casting out demons in my husband and breaking long-standing family curses over my girls. 13 months later, the Lord restored our marriage. It is AMAZING! More than I could ask for and all that God promised. We are still in the restoration journey. We are “redoing” all that was done wrong, including being without work for now 9 months. But God … and that is the answer. But God … He is taking care of us in ways I couldn’t imagine. Things we have “redone” and things that have been restored and ways He has changed us are simply mind-blowing. Praise His name!
And that is the very shortened version of my story. Love you Alece!
Looooove this! “But God….” Isn’t that the real truth in all our stories, that He works if we allow Him to. I did this, but God… My life was screwed up, but God… I endured pain, lies, betrayal, deep wounds, whatever, but God… The best part is always “but God!”
@kedamak says:
What a beautiful story! I love the But God part because seriously when God say “but” we better watch out. Thank you for sharing this shortened version of your story.
@gritandglory says:
i love you, debra. God’s restoration and redemption is laced all through your story. thank you for being so transparent and vulnerable here.
Alece…love this. We have gone through and are still going through a rough journey. I know some of the reasons I don’t share are because I feel ashamed. Satan does a great job at rubbing it in our faces. I know God will use it all…it’s just hard to see what He’s going to do that will glorify Him.
@gritandglory says:
i completely get that. it is really hard for me to see how He will use this for His glory, how He will possibly redeem even this…
i think He’s gonna blow both of us away.
God convicted me of some glaring sin in my life with this verse. I’d turned away from my ‘wicked ways’ (ha! that sounds so Old Testament), but knew that true healing and accountability would only begin if I told someone else. My story has only been shared once, but there was a freedom found in releasing the guilt I had hidden. Obedience and the loss of my pride has given me a new understanding of the healing power of Jesus. And, to be honest, I can’t even remember my ‘old ways’.
Secrecy empowers satan.
@bajanpoet says:
True that. Shining light on things releases freedom, I’ve found. Hiding things makes the sin grow… like a festering mould.
@gritandglory says:
you give me hope, steph.
amen!
@moweezle says:
soooooo true!
I just found your blog and I’m so glad I did :) Thanks for candidly sharing your heart! I look forward to more blogs.
Love,
The Chronic Handwasher ;)
@gritandglory says:
thanks, bianca! welcome to the grit! ;)
*ouch* Can anybody say “trust issues”? I can feel the conviction setting in…
Amen sister.
Jake and I struggle in this area because he is very private, but I am very open….with the mentality that if a testimony is kept in secret it does not give glory to God. Keeping the story of our redemption hidden is exacttly what Satan wants us to do…. God wants us to shine HIS light on it.
And I love that you are shining that light.
Love you
I should expand on my comment…. there still is a time and a place to share, and we should let God guide us in that and not just run around sharing willy nilly about our sin stuff unless there is a purpose to the telling. Because we are so different in that area I don’t publicly share the things he would be uncomfortable with, but I can still share in a way that honors his privacy and brings glory to God through our story. And that is something everyone can do with their testimony.
@bajanpoet says:
Thanks for that, Brandy…. “. Because we are so different in that area I don’t publicly share the things he would be uncomfortable with, but I can still share in a way that honors his privacy and brings glory to God through our story. ” That’s exactly what I am trying to learn to do. I’m a lot like you, my wife is a lot like your husband….
@gritandglory says:
i love your thoughts here. and i agree completely.
Satan shames us with what remains hidden. The Enemy loses the power over us when we bring things into the light where God can redeem. It is powerful confess our sin and brokeness, be covered in the blood of the Lamb and testify to power of God’s grace.
@kedamak says:
Amen!
@gritandglory says:
i’m with makeda—amen!
@cassgirl says:
Amen FF…
Our stories changed not only us but those around us.
Loving you deeply!
As soon as He’s helped me to understand it, I’ll tell it…
…until then, I pray for insight.
Thanks for the nudge.
@gritandglory says:
FYP, michelle…
Do you have any idea how that buoys me?
Yeah, I think you do.
Love you, Alece.
Reminded of this quote…
Martin Niemoller is sentenced to 7 mos in prison for opposing Hitler. “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. They they came for me and there was no one left to speak.”
@koalainscotland says:
I guess that’s how my own blog strated, and why I started LFS Introducing… blog to give an opportunity to share some stories!
@kedamak says:
I think the most beautiful part of sharing our story is being truly known as a result. We all crave to be known but how can we truly be known when we hide the journey that has made us who we are. I’ve been simmering in that revelation for the last two days because I’ve allowed shame to define me for so long, that hiding is so much easier than sharing my story. But I long to be known, and I am getting that to be truly known I have to share my story; all of it, even the ugly parts. I’m working on it but not completely there yet. Thank you for this gentle reminder. Your story is giving me courage to share my own more every day.
@gritandglory says:
i live in the tension between wanting to be fully known and fearing that no one would love me if they really knew me. in my decision to risk more (in the area of vulnerability and authenticity), i’m trying to lean into my desire to be truly known more. i want to fear the hiding more than i fear being seen.
@kedamak says:
“I want to fear the hiding more than I fear being seen”. I love that Alece. I’m going to simmer on that for awhile and pray for the courage to lean into my desire to be truly known. Thank you friend.
@TomMartinATL says:
Wow, I never looked at the verse from that view, but I guess that was where I was mentally tracking as I laid out my commitments for 2010 with this being one of them:
{Be prepared to share my story wherever God opens the door for it to be told, one to one, in a group, or in front of an audience. But always….Always make sure the story glorifies God’s forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love, while never….Never posturing myself in any light other broken, lost, full of prideful arrogance, and redeemed by the cross}
What provoked that was when an aquantance asked if I’d mind sharing the link to the video of my Baptism testimony that my church made and I saw a contrast between that story and the story I sometimes shared. Not only had I been editing my story/testimony to portray myself and certain people in more favorable light, it was convictingly clear that I was diminishing God’s significance, His grace, His mercy, and the potential impact the story can have all for the sake of a little ego. One look at my face in that video and it told it all—or I should say led me to start telling it ALL every time in every situation.
@gritandglory says:
wow, tom. wow.
thank you for sharing that.
@mandythompson says:
This would be on your blog today, wouldn’t it????
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Yesterday morning I started writing… Writing out all the stuff I haven’t yet written. At the same table that you and Heather and I sat at. In your seat.
Pretty soon I will be posting. I don’t know what this will mean, but I know I need to get it out there before the application process begins. Because I want to start blogging about the process… And because when I start writing and talking about this, people will have questions. And I want to fill in all the blanks so they don’t.
And, well, I think it’ll be good for me to take a hard look back before looking forward. And it’s tough, but it’s what the experience deserves. It’s what “the life” deserves. And nobody talks about this stuff. They just silently suffer through. Like I did. But I don’t think that’s how it should be. So, I’m going to talk.
Just not yet. Not until I can stand the comments. I can stand the response. I can stand everyone knowing.
I will…
Soon.
I have the hiccups. Can’t go to sleep yet. Hope you rest well tonight. Love you.
@gritandglory says:
i am proud of you. and i am in your corner. 100%.
@traceepersiko says:
Telling my story is not the hard part, but telling the transparent or tender parts… now that’s hard. I am learning how much life and freedom can be experienced in releasing my heart.
You honestly do this so well. With knees shaking, you are so gifted with the invitation that is your life. Thank you for you-for taking a chance. God is so clearly making life out of you. Look st this church of yours that grown in depth of intimacy because of your hearts story. Makes me smile so big!
@gritandglory says:
“come and see…” i want to live that kind of life. even if i have to do it afraid.
I don’t share.
I have a list of excuses.
You amaze me.
Iloveyou.
@XGzQPnRqtpoYlNY says:
I appreciate you taking to time to corntibute That\’s very helpful.