Matthew 10:32 Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
Testifying about God is an expression of faith. Since we know according to Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it’s impossible to please God, the above scripture shows it pleases God that we acknowledge Him for all that we are and all that we have. When Jesus told the 10 lepers to go show themselves to the priests, on their way, one noticed He was healed and immediately returned to testify to Jesus and Jesus told him that his faith had made him whole. In other words, the fact that this former leper came to acknowledge Jesus was a faith step. If you are struggling to testify of God’s goodness, it’s because you don’t even believe, in the first place, that He did it. You think it’s not that deep and you worked for whatever you have.
A lot of people are ashamed to tell of what God has done in their lives. God’s ultimate plan is to reach the entire world and not just give you a miracle. Through the miracles and breakthroughs that come your way, the ultimate plan is to let others know.
The attitude of ingratitude actually stems from this: Because we already struggle to thank human beings we can see with our physical eyes, it is more of a challenge to acknowledge a God we can’t see physically. We wait for people to die before we come out to say all the wonderful things they did for us. And it really shows me that the way you relate with human beings will translate to your relationship with God in the long run.
There are three levels of testimonies I discovered after seeing a few scriptures.
The first is thanking God personally. Psalm 103:2 speaks of blessing the Lord and the author says, O my soul. The emphasis is on O my soul. It’s personal and what you do in your chamber alone with God. This is actually the lowest level and yet many people don’t even do it. Taking a day from time to time to just bless God, adore Him and worship without asking for anything is key at this level. With this, your current struggles don’t matter because Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25, were praying and singing hymns to God at midnight in prison – take note of that phrase (in prison). I thought they should be singing when everything is okay with their lives but no they were in a joyful mood when their movement was limited and they had no freedom. Are you in prison? If not, you have more than enough reason to thank God because these men did that.
The second level is where you tell others. It’s sharing your personal experiences with others for their strengthening and edification. Luke 8:39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Psalm 119:46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame. Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. If doing the first one is a challenge, this one would be more difficult to do because you’d feel ashamed. If you can’t thank God in your room alone, how would you do it in public?
The third level is where your life is a testimony. Here, you don’t even need to speak. By the time people see the results you’ve produced because of your relationship with the Lord, they just know it’s the doing of the Lord and they are drawn to Jesus. Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 2 Corinthians 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. Your life is literally being read and people can decide to live their lives like you because Paul said: Imitate me as I imitate Christ. You influence others for God’s Kingdom and this is the most effective and easiest way to win others. When your life is in alignment with what you say, you are the testimony by yourself.
Refusing to acknowledge God is a sign of pride. You may think you are shy but it’s pride. When I used to do that and God told me I was proud, I couldn’t believe it and I had to change even though I didn’t like to be so open with what God had done for me. Anyone who does not talk to others about God has not known Him just yet.
The Word In Clarity 