Christian, You Need To Share Your Testimony

I recently attended a ladies’ retreat, and I was given the opportunity to share my testimony of salvation. At first, I was hesitant because I suspected no one would come to hear me. I’m not all that interesting, or at least, I’m no more interesting than anyone else. Maybe my workshop was going to prevent someone from sharing something…important. During my preparation, though, a thought occurred to me. We should all be ready and willing to tell others about what the Lord has done in our lives. I was ready to share my story at that retreat, but now I’d like to convince you to share your testimony, too.

What Exactly Is A Testimony?

When Christians talk about testimonies, they aren’t referencing being under oath in a courtroom to tell what they know about a criminal case. Well, they usually aren’t. In Christian circles, a testimony means one of two things. It’s either the story of how someone came to know the God of the Bible, or it’s about how God is working in someone’s life.

A testimony of salvation is pretty clear, I think. “This is how I got saved…” The other testimonies relate to any number of events, struggles, blessings, etc. A believer battling cancer may have a testimony about how God is drawing her closer and increasing her faith through the trial. Another Christian may have a testimony about God meeting financial needs or providing comfort after losing a spouse. Really, it can be about anything God can be a part of in our lives. So, any and everything.

For today’s purposes, I am talking about testimonies of salvation when I discuss testimonies.

What Makes A Testimony “Good?”

I’m a very conservative Baptist who spends time with other very conservative Baptists. Many of these men and women are what I call “Career Christians.” I just mean that they grew up in Christian homes, attended church in their youth, and were saved at a young age. My husband and I are first-generation Christians, but my kids are certainly set up to be Career Christians. I pray they will be. They don’t need to follow my path to Jesus. In fact, I would like uneventful testimonies. Would that make their testimonies less-than, though?

I’ve spoken to many believers who say their testimonies are “boring.” Just recently, several women expressed joy at hearing my testimony because they didn’t have interesting ones.

I must disagree! Every testimony is amazing and points to a loving and longsuffering God. None are “better” than any others. However, I can see where they are coming from.

I had a friend early in my walk with the Lord who grew up in church and made an early profession. She confided in me that she sometimes felt jealous of testimonies like mine because she thought hers was boring and uneventful. She was able to quickly realize, though, that there is a tremendous blessing in a life absent of the many trappings of the world.

Ultimately, we agreed her testimony was evidence of an awesome God who spared her the heartaches and consequences of living in the world. Meanwhile, my salvation testimony displayed God’s love for the worst of sinners, willing to take me as His own after a shameful life. God is good in both circumstances.

Whether your testimony could fill a book or barely makes for a full paragraph, friend, your salvation is an amazing work of God. Share it. Not convinced? Well, let me give you four reasons to share your testimony as often as you can.

4 Reasons To Share Your Testimony

1. Share Your Testimony To Bring The Gospel Back To Life

Many of us don’t want to admit it, but the gospel can become stale to us over the years. When we are saved, the gospel is an important piece of our lives. We are overcome with our new life in Christ. “Praise God!” we exclaim to anyone who will listen. Then, life continues to bring its challenges and daily grind. We still love our Lord, but the shine of the gospel is gone.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying Christians stop believing or lose their salvation, but rather, I’m suggesting that the gospel can lose its significance in our minds. I liken the experience to taking your spouse for granted. Sure, you love him, but your attention and care have begun to fade.

In my experience, believers feel rejuvenated and excited about the gospel again when they hear a testimony. Hopefully, it brings their own testimonies to mind and reminds them of the wonderful day they became a child of God. This past weekend, multiple women approached me after sharing my testimony to tell me they had similar experiences. Some of these women had been rescued from drunkenness, sexual immorality, the occult, and much more. I pray that my testimony reminded them of just how much God loves them and of the significant role the gospel played in their lives.

2. Share Your Testimony To Encourage Christians

Have you prayed for someone to be saved for months, years, or even decades? I can’t think of anything more heartbreaking than knowing a loved one has died while still rejecting Christ. That was, by far, the hardest part of losing my mom. So, as we fervently pray for our lost friends and family, discouragement can become the norm. How many of us have stopped praying with confidence and begun to pray in defeat? It’s more common than we want to admit.

If you share your testimony, you can encourage another Christian to continue praying for those who seem unreachable. I was unreachable. While I was being the unlikely Christian, three or four churches prayed for my salvation. They believed it was possible. Sometimes, though, we need to be reminded of that fact. Share your testimony to remind believers that God can save anyone. Even you!

3. Share Your Testimony To Remind Yourself Of What God Did For You

Just as sharing your testimony reminds others of how God saved them, your testimony should also remind you of your salvation. I need that reminder as much as anyone at times. There are days, weeks, months… Let’s just say there are periods of time when I feel discouraged and pull myself away from God. I don’t always feel good enough to be a Christian or a pastor’s wife. Occasionally, it hits me in the form of imposter syndrome.

Sharing my testimony allows me to hear about God’s work in my life, and it appears I need to be reminded of it from time to time. However, an encouragement I hadn’t predicted is others’ reactions to my testimony. Seeing Christians get excited to hear what God orchestrated in my life and what He saved me from makes me remember just how thankful I should be. My testimony points me back to Christ.

4. Share Your Testimony As A Way To Evangelize

I’ve saved the biggest reason for last. Share your testimony to witness to the lost. A necessary part of Christian life is to share the gospel with the world, but many of us are terrified to do this. We’re afraid of potential negative reactions or that we’ll forget what to say in the moment. Nonetheless, Christian, we can’t keep the gospel to ourselves and hide in our comfortable Christian bubble.

Your testimony makes an excellent evangelization tool. No one knows your testimony better than you, so it’s easy and natural to tell. Unlike throwing out-of-context Bible verses at an uninterested person, telling a “story” from your life is conversational rather than potentially confrontational.

Sharing your testimony also makes bringing the gospel into the conversation incredibly easy and sensible. I mean, it should be a central part of your salvation testimony, right?

I suggest having a 2-minute testimony ready to share because not everyone has the time or interest to sit and have a long chat over coffee.

Be prepared to share a longer version, however, because someone might open the door to hear the whole story. If you have a particularly interesting or unique testimony, consider writing a short version of it down and using it as a tract. Your testimony matters, and you don’t know how it could affect an unbeliever. So, share it and proudly give God the glory in how He saved and changed you.

Testimony Is In The Bible

You don’t have to look in the Bible long to find support for the idea of sharing the wonderful works of God. I’ve included just a small sample below for those who might want to see what God has to say about giving a testimony.

We see encouragement for a testimony of salvation in David’s song of thanks recorded in 1 Chronicles 16.

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.”

1 Chronicles 16:23 (ESV)

The Psalms express rejoicing over salvation and a desire to tell others.

“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”

Psalm 66:16

“Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.”

Psalm 96:2

The New Testament also encourages giving a testimony of what the Lord has done from Jesus’ own mouth.

“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’”

Mark 5:18-19 (ESV)

Final Thought

I can’t encourage you enough to share your testimony. On the other hand, I must warn you to be prepared. Sharing who you were before you knew Christ requires you to be transparent with your listeners. This sort of transparency may not be comfortable at first because it isn’t the image you have grown accustomed to presenting. You’ll need to face difficult things from your past, maybe even shame. Yes, you might end up feeling a little embarrassed, too.

Is it worth it if you end up feeling awkward and sharing things that you usually keep private? Yes, yes, yes! Please, be an encouragement and a witness for the power of Jesus. Share your testimony.

Do you share your testimony or prefer to keep it to yourself?

Image courtesy of Hannah Busing via Unsplash.