What God has done in your life should be shouted from the rooftops and here is why. If you have bee a Christian more than five minutes, you can almost certainly look back at your life and see some major transformation. (This can be a shift in thinking and isn’t always physical change.) That is the beauty of God, he loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He has a divine plan for our existence. You have been created for a purpose; open your eyes to what God wants to do through your life.

I served over five years as a codependency leader in Celebrate Recovery (CR). The lessons and accountability I received as part of this program are a major part of the reason that I was able to overcome my toxic mindset. I would recommend CR to ANYONE struggling with ANYTHING that wants a biblical program to guide them out of it. As part of CR, many people choose to publicly share their testimony. At CR confidentiality is an essential requirement to the program’s success, so that makes it a little easier to be vulnerable. If I am honest I wasn’t afraid to share my testimony like many people. I wanted to share with everyone what God had done in my life for many of the same reasons I am here writing to you today. I want everyone to overcome, be encouraged, and live the life God created us for!

I wanted to share my story, but the devil definitely still tried try to discourage me from sharing what God had done in my life. I had people tell me I wasn’t ready to share my testimony and that I wasn’t strong enough. This led me to question whether my story had any value to others. I have struggled over the years to share my story with certain audiences because it includes divorce and mental illness within the family. These are sensitive subjects for a lot of people. They are sensitive for ME! I often wish they weren’t part of my story. Sometimes I wish my story was so boring that nobody wanted to listen. Unfortunately, my story for a lot of years was crazier than what writers were coming up with for the highest viewed television series! I think a lot of my friends and family only called when they were bored and wanted better entertainment! I often told people my whole goal in life was to be bored one day. I won’t share my whole story here, but there was utter hopelessness and depression for many years due to an emotionally abusive marriage. When I chose to surrender it all to God, EVERYTHING changed. It didn’t change how I wanted it to, but God did something better! It was one of the most painful times of my life, but I’m so grateful for the growth and the outcome. All this to say that my story is difficult to share with certain audiences. Other people’s stories are difficult to share for many other reasons. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t have a story. Even those who tell me life has been very vanilla have pain that they have had to walk through. Everyone’s story has value and should be shared.

We all shutter a little at the thought of sharing the hardest trials of our lives with others. The thought of sharing those challenges with a room full of strangers is a near impossible idea to fathom. I have had more than one person tell me with a ghost white face that they could NEVER share their testimony. They would continue that there was never going to be a set of circumstances where they would get up in front of a group of strangers and share their story….ever! This is my favorite moment now because my very next words always go something like this… “Has God done incredible things in your life?” They always answer “yes”. To which I reply, “So you are going to keep that to yourself?” That’s the spiritual gut punch. When God did the impossible, transformed the unimaginable, provided when there was no other way, brought back your wayward child, taught you to forgive, etc. you are going to keep that to yourself? This is where the shift starts. What God has done in your life could encourage someone else to trust God is big enough to change theirs too.

If you don’t share the victories God has given you, it’s almost like it never even happened for the rest of the world. You aren’t allowing God’s glory to shine through it. It is important that you are in a safe place, with someone you have decided you can trust, and chosen to willingly share what God has done for you. I am not suggesting you have to do this publicly. CR is an unique environment to share confidentially and I am not suggesting that you actually shout your story from the rooftops. However, the enemy wants nothing more than to hold you back from what God created you to be. When you are strong enough not be slowed down by his attacks, the world needs to hear what God has done. Even if it is sharing your story with one person at a time. This shows them that God is faithful and that they can trust him to do mighty things in their circumstances also. 

Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.