Tell Your Story

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,” Psalm 107:1-2 NIV

“I was a wretch, I remember who I was
I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time
Sin separated, the breach was far too wide
But from the far side of the chasm
You held me in Your sight…

So You made a way, across the great divide  

Left behind, Heaven's throne, to build it here inside. 

And there at the cross You paid the debt I owe. 

Broke my chains, freed my soul, for the first time I had hope…

Thank You Jesus, for the blood applied
Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white
Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light…”

As I raised my hands in praise and sang those words alongside my husband and church family yesterday morning, I was overwhelmed with gratitude at the goodness of God in my life. “Not only has the Lord granted you the gift of eternal life by the death of His Son Jesus Christ that reconciled you back to Him (something He did while you were still a sinner),” I thought to myself as the tears began to flow, “but He gave you all that you have… the ability to run, a new husband who loves the Lord with all his heart and absolutely adores you, two amazing children (and three bonus daughters), a home, a car, a full refrigerator, and a great job that allows you to serve your community. And that’s just a small list of things. You truly have a lot to be thankful for today and every day.”

 
And, you know, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you too have a lot to be thankful for today and every day. By the death and resurrection of God’s Son, you have been “redeemed from the hand of the foe” and have reason to “give thanks to the Lord.” For He is good and his love endures forever! Did you get that part? God is not good sometimes, but all the time! And God’s love isn’t conditional or earned, it’s freely poured out on us day after day. The psalmist clearly understood this and went on to list even more reasons that God can and should be praised, adding that the redeemed of the Lord (that’s you and me) should regularly and unashamedly tell their story in response to this knowledge. You see, while all believers share a common story of salvation the day they accepted Jesus as their Savior, individually each one of us has a unique one-of-a-kind story that displays the extraordinary goodness of God.

So don’t keep the goodness of God to yourself my friend. If God has been good to you, then tell your story! It’s the very thing that has the power to lead others to the foot of the Cross where they can discover for themselves that God is good and worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being good all the time and for loving us unconditionally. Help us to be so filled with gratitude in light of your goodness God that we are compelled to share our story with all those we meet in hopes that they will choose to follow You. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

 
Happy Running!