Green Pastures
Weekly Devotional
GREEN PASTURES, QUIET WATERS
TESTIFY!
Psalm chapter forty is one of my favorites. Read what David wrote: “I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.” (vs 9, 10)
David was certainly not hesitant to speak to others about his relationship with God and give testimony to what God had done for him. In fact, he was eager to tell about God’s faithfulness
Some of you of “a certain age” may remember when churches had testimony /prayer meetings. Opportunity would be given for folks to stand and “give a word” of praise for what he or she had experienced in their walk with the Lord. As a young girl I was eager to hear what they would say as they rose to their feet and spoke of trials and life issues that God had helped them through.
In the verse above, David wrote that he was eager to tell people in the assembly about God’s faithfulness, His love and truth. He could hardly wait to do so.
I miss those days when people were not ashamed or afraid of giving testimony in the house of the Lord. Somehow it doesn’t seem to fit into the new style professionalism of the modern church. But why not? I think we have lost something precious by stifling the opportunities to tell everyone in the “great assembly” about what God is doing on our behalf.
I remember one elderly lady who, each time we had a testimony time in church, would tell about the time she became a believer in Jesus Christ as a very young girl. It was a nice story, but even as a young girl I wondered, “hasn’t God done anything for her since then? David had experienced so many things in his relationship to his God – good and bad – and he knew it would bolster the faith of others to let it be known.
I wonder if, given opportunity, we would have anything to say. If not, could it possibly be because in our busy, “taking care of business” lives, we are not keenly aware of how God is ministering to us, how He is acting on our behalf? Earlier in that same chapter, David wrote “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no-one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” If we are aware, do we have the courage to share it with others? We spend a lot of time speaking of non essentials, but how natural is it for you and I to share the workings of God in our lives?
God is always at work in you and through you. Are you noticing? Are you tuned in?
Some may find it difficult to speak openly about such things, perhaps because they are afraid they will not be eloquent of speech, or because they just do not know what to say.
Once, when opportunity was given to share how God had blessed them during the week, the person beside me quietly whispered to me, “I don’t think God has done anything exciting or new lately, so I really don’t have anything to say.” The response to the pastor’s request brought little response.
It isn’t that God has not done anything in our lives, we are often just not aware of how God works constantly to bless, uphold, rescue, provide, protect, - and on the list could go. We just don’t notice. We have become conditioned to receiving, but not noticing or giving thanks for the everyday blessings from our Father. Why do we look for the new or dramatic? It seems so mundane to just respond with everyday ordinariness. We want to say something attention grabbing, something with a “WOW” at the end.
Perhaps you have experienced this: someone gives a dynamic answer to prayer or some dramatic rescue, and the wow moment is great. We all rejoice. The next person gets up and gives a quiet testimony of thanks for God’s presence and provision, Silence. So? That’s normal. Exactly. The normalcy should be a great reason for testifying to the goodness of God.
Some even hesitate to speak up about something beyond “normal” that God has done. They don’t know how to put it into words. But if we are aware and excited about what God is doing, just open the mouth and trust God to fill it with words of praise and thanks.
"His voice leads us not into timid discipleship but into bold witness." - Charles Stanley
B. Klassen beatrice.klassen@outlook.com