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The Power of Story

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Marlo Jenkins

I love a good story. In our Sunday gatherings at Eaglemont Church, I love it when people are courageous and transparent enough to get up and share their story…or aspects of their story. Personal testimonies are powerful. There is something significant that happens when someone shares their experiences of challenge in life as well as their thoughts and feelings about how they were able to trust God in the midst of those difficulties.

As Christ-followers, the experiences we go through are purposeful. If we respond well, God can use what we’ve gone through to be a huge encouragement to others. Of course we understand that for this to be the case, each one of us must make a commitment to be transparent about what is happening in our lives and how God is using those things to shape us.

II Corinthians 1:3–4 talks about this: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”

I like the way The Message paraphrase puts this same Bible passage: “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.”

Of course we cannot do this indiscriminately, but as God leads us and as we have appropriate opportunities, sharing our lives with one another in the body of Christ is a big part of what Paul referred to when he told us to “spur one another on to love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24). Look for appropriate opportunities to do this in your small group, or during coffee time on Sundays, or possibly even in the Sunday gathering. Let God use the story of your life, in any way He wants, to comfort and encourage someone else!