Your testimony can save a life
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I woke up late today. Normally, I wake up early enough to read my Bible, write, and then start getting my boys ready for the day.
Usually, when 4:30 a.m. comes around my alarm starts to sound off and I hop out of bed—but this morning, I didn’t roll out of bed until 6 a.m.
Here’s why:
I was tired.
You probably thought I was going to say something super profound—sorry, but I do have something the Lord has put on my heart to share. It’s something that has been resonating with me since preaching about it last night.
I focused a lot on John 4:39, which says, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “‘He told me all that I ever did.” (ESV).
The last part of the verse stuck with me: because of the woman's testimony. What a reminder of the power of our stories!
My book, Redeem the Story, is all about how God can redeem our story no matter who we are, what we’ve done, or where we are. As I read the gospels I’m constantly confronted with story—how Jesus uses parable after parable to reveal spiritual truth and bring about life transformation.
What is amazing about our testimonies is they are all different. The woman at the well had a different story than the Apostle Peter or John Mark or the Apostle Paul. You and I have a different story—but each story can bring truth to someone bound in darkness.
Your story matters. Your story could be what helps someone choose to follow Jesus. Your story might resonate better than mine or vice versa. That’s why it’s so imperative for each of us to share what God has done in our lives with others!
I believe our stories need to be shared.
I want to share with you the introduction of my book, Redeem the Story, to remind you that you have a story.
Even if you feel like your life isn’t that exciting—you have a story that matters and it needs to be shared! Someone somewhere needs to hear it.
Lives depend on each of us sharing our testimony!
Everyone has a story. From Genesis to Revelation you see a story of redemption unfolding. Isaiah 47:4 (ESV) says that God is “our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.” Since the fall happened in Genesis chapter 3 God has been writing redemption in the lives of countless people. In this book, we will zoom in on a few people in the story of Scripture where God redeemed their story despite their mistakes, guilt, and shame. We will also look at how, even today, God wants to redeem your story too. So, if you’re a drug addict reading this: God wants to redeem your story. If you’re a struggling alcoholic who’s made countless mistakes: God wants to redeem your story. If you had an affair and walked out on your family: God wants to redeem your story. If you’ve cheated and lied your whole life and it’s destroyed your relationships with friends and family: God wants to redeem your story.
Maybe your story is written with unforgiveness and bitterness or anger that has given birth to hatred and resentment. Perhaps your story is written with mistakes that have morphed your guilt into an unbearable shame that’s become so heavy you find it hard to even breathe. Let me be upfront with you: this book is about challenging you to let God rewrite your story—to replace anger with joy and shame with freedom. It’s a call to give the pen back to the author of creation and allow him to pen a new story from the torn pages of what has become a life of mistakes and shame—a life that seems broken beyond repair. I know all about making mistakes, feeling guilty, and living with shame. I also know how the things we have done (or the things that have been done to us) can easily define us—and our story.
One of the coolest things about God is that he doesn’t recreate. He creates. He doesn’t recycle what was bad in order to make something good. When you got saved 2 Corinthians 5:17 (CSB) says this about you: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a recreation; the old has been recycled, and the recreation has come.” No, when you “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”1 When you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you become a new creation. The old life—the old story—has been erased. You are now in a position for God to redeem your story. To rewrite it with a new ending. To write hope instead of fear. To write joy instead of anger. And to write grace instead of condemnation. You are in the place where you can make the choice to give the pen back. You’re not a recreation. You’re a new creation. Give up the pen and let God create!
The Apostle Paul writes in Titus 2:14 (ESV) about Jesus, that he “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Merriam-Webster defines the word redeem as “to buy back.”2 Throughout the pages of Scripture, you see God’s divine plan unfold to redeem his creation.
From Abraham to King David to the Apostle Paul, and all the other great men and women of the faith, each of their stories is written within the grander story of God buying back a broken world. The Bible says in Acts 3:21 (ESV), “…Whom [speaking of Jesus] heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” By God’s grace we get to experience restoration. His divine story of redemption reached its climax when Jesus was mocked, beaten, humiliated, and crucified. But the story is still being told. It isn’t over yet, because God doesn’t wish that any would “perish but all to come to repentance.”3
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV), “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus was perfect. He willingly chose to take our sin upon himself. To take our place upon the cross. And to endure God’s wrath on our behalf. Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples, arrested, and then put on trial. The people were ready to kill the very one that came to “seek and to save.”4 They demanded that he be killed and that Barabbas, who was a leader of an insurrection and a murderer, be released instead.
Giving in to their requests, Pilate “delivered Jesus over to their will.”5 It was the will of the people to crucify Jesus, but it was the will of God to crucify Jesus for the people—that includes you and me. The story of redemption is a beautiful story of grace. Even while they drove those nails into his hands and feet, and raised him up on that cross to humiliate him, Jesus didn’t once condemn them. He loved them even then. He doesn’t want you to live in a story of regret or shame. He’s inviting you into his story of redemption, because it’s grace that makes it possible. Without grace, there would be no hope of redemption in creation. I continually thank God for his grace!
It’s my hope that you see yourself as someone whom God loves—someone whom God wants to redeem! Your story matters because you matter to God!
I pray you are encouraged by this book and that you’ll find redemption written in your story. If you’re reading this, it’s not too late. There’s still hope. No matter what you’ve done, what you’ve been through, or what’s been done to you. There is hope on the horizon.
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About Aaron
Aaron Joseph Hall is a husband, a dad of 4 boys, a pastor, and a writer based out of South Florida. He’s written hundreds of articles over the years, a few books, and has bylines at The Washington Times, The Christian Post, and Think Eternity. You can find his latest book on Amazon and follow him on X and Instagram.