The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7).
The Lord’s testimonies are his stories. Stories are what we remember most about anything – a sermon, a vacation trip, the Bible. In two months time, we don’t remember the point of a sermon (or blog). We remember the story the pastor told when they were preaching a sermon in Russia and the translator accidentally translated the word “unique” to “eunuch” instead. We somewhat remember the views on the road trip through the mountains of Colorado. But what we really remember and continue to talk about, is the part where the Jeep caught on fire and everyone had to bail out in a panic and the nice man driving a giant garbage truck was the only one to stop and put out the fire with his extinguisher.
We all love stories. We can relate to stories. God wants us to be able to relate to Him, and so His Word is filled with stories – testimonies. God uses his stories to build our knowledge of Him and to impart wisdom to us. Wisdom and knowledge of what God is capable of builds hope in us, and thereby builds faith in us (Hebrews 11:1). We encourage one another with our faith stories and testimonies of how God is working in our lives, and thereby build faith in one another (1 Thessalonians 5:12; Romans 1:12).
This seems quite simple: read the Bible with super amazing stories, build your faith; hear stories and testimonies about how God has done super amazing things in other people’s lives, build your faith (more on other people’s testimonies in my next post). But until recently, I just really didn’t get it . When I would read stories in the Bible about Joshua praying to have God stop the sun so they could fight the Amorites longer (Joshua 10:12-13), or about Gideon defeating hundreds of thousands of Midianites with only 300 men (Judges 7), they were just stories. They were exciting and fun to read, but I’ve never needed to defeat an army of Amorites or Midianites, so I just didn’t see how it applied to me.
I failed to see that God truly gives us testimonies and stories to build our faith. The testimonies of the Lord of sure, they are true. I can trust in them. I can apply them to my life. When I realized that, I started looking for how every single Bible story I read, could apply to my life. I may not need God to stop the sun so that I can have more time to battle the Amorites, but I can take a moment to stop my story. When I stop my story and focus on God and ask Him for strength and direction for the day, and (bonus!) maybe even read His Word a little bit, somehow those are the days that seem to stretch a little longer. I’m able to get more things done than what I expected on those days and miraculously still have energy at the end of the day.
I may not need to defeat an army of Midianites and Amalekites, whose camels were as numerous as the sands by the seashore, but I’ve faced problems that I thought were too big for me. So instead I stop focusing on my story and I tell myself over and over “the testimonies of the Lord are sure, the stories of the Lord are true.” God shows me where He came through for Gideon and so many others throughout the Bible and He builds my faith through His stories.
When God says, “‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’; fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:8-10)” He is not only speaking to Abraham, or to Jacob, or the nation of Israel. God is speaking to you. The testimonies of the Lord are sure, and they apply to you. God wrote them to you and for you.
I certainly haven’t perfected practicing this. I have to remind myself every time I read or hear a Bible story now that it absolutely applies to my life. I ask God to show me how it applies to me, and how I can apply it in my life. It’s a fun challenge, and my faith has been growing in leaps and bounds since.
If Joshua asked for the sun to be stopped and God did it, I can stop my story to seek God’s wisdom, and I know He’ll be faithful. If Gideon defeated a massive collection of armies with 300 men, some lamps, and some trumpets, I can write one more email, do one more load of laundry, shovel one more load of dirt into the truck. God will be faithful in building your faith, and he’ll give you extra strength on top of that.
Find a Bible story, find a testimony of God to you, and see how you can apply it to your life. When you’re in that weak moment of faith, stop your story and focus on God’s story. You may even have to repeat over and over to yourself, “the testimonies of the Lord are true,” but I promise you’ll find God building your strength to make it through the next week, the next day, or even just the next moment.
In Him – Just a girl pursuing her reflection in the mirror