We each have a voice.
We each have a story. Do we understand the power of our voices when we declare the victory of Jesus Christ in our lives?
As believers, we know that we have overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony. In the spring of 2014 I was invited to share my testimony with a group of high schoolers in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I have shared my testimony before many times and in various settings, but had never shared it fully. In that small upper room in the neighborhood’s teen club, I laid my life bare before a bunch of teenagers. Afterward a local pastor came up to me and shared with me about how his wife had never been set free from the same addictions and struggles that I had gone through. As he was sharing this precious gem with me I started to tear up, and he looked at me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and started to pray for me. In that moment i saw (a picture in my mind’s eye) a room full of teenage girls who live in Pagosa Springs who were contemplating suicide because they were believing lies that had root systems in being hurt sexually.
I wept for those young women… I still do as I tarry in prayer for them. Beloved, hear me. Our stories set others free, and they bring us to deeper levels of freedom! Know this, that when I woke up the morning after sharing my full testimony in public for the first time, I felt deeper freedom. I was experiencing more levels of joy within the following weeks that I hadn’t in years.
This is the joy of living in community, and knowing what that means. We as the church must know that we meet together because we are broken people who need Jesus, not some elite people who have it all together. We are shipwrecked in our own attempts at perfected religion, we need Jesus and people.
Bottom line, lay your life bare. See a generation set free, and watch as the Lord transforms you from glory to glory.
This is a poem that I wrote in the same Spring season as I shared my testimony in Pagosa. It is about how Holy Spirit is the one who “Testifies with our spirit that we are son’s of God.” Lay your life bare before Him, and watch Him set you ablaze into a fire that shines with the light of His kingdom.
“Life Laid Bare,” By: Charity Taylor
Life is not passing, here today and gone tomorrow; it is perpetual. For life Himself dwells among men and is called Spirit. Spirit talks to me and leads me to peace. I am His friend, you see. I love and enjoy Him as any other friend. But He is closer to me then any friend a man could be, because Spirit speaks truth to my heart and He guards me from attacks of that great Old Devil.
Today the sun shines through my window and I can see little shapes dancing in between the rays of light. Quiet peace surrounds me as I take a sip of its unending waters. “Life,” it sings to my soul. “Life,” as if reminding me of those days before I knew Spirit. Joy tugs at the corners of my lips and I close my eyes and thank Spirit and His Father for the plan that they had Incarnated 2000 years prior.
“I remember, Spirit, when death and despair dwelt within me. It painted pictures of myself, which I have forgotten, on the canvases of my mind. I couldn’t see then, through the tainted linen of my soul. I couldn’t hear then, through the slimy accusations I would see in the mirror. I couldn’t feel then, even when every door was locked and I was safe- Locked and Safe formed by my own imagination. I remember when you opened those locked gardens within my heart; the secret garden eaten up by weeds. You spoke and light shot forth into the garden of my soul. And every perfect fruit bore in its season.”
In my weakness He is made perfect. In my brokenness, Spirit shines through the cracked crevices of my heart. “Life,” He said to me as I held the razor to my arm. “Life,” He said as I held the joint to my lips. “Life,” He beckoned as I stared into eternity wondering if I was meant to live. “Life,” He desired in me when He strengthened Incarnation in that Garden.
Today the sun kisses my cheeks as I look out my window. There the green of the grass beckons me to lie down. “You can rest here,” it tells me. Heavy laden, I realize my neck aches and my ankles are raw. I open the door to His garden and sit beneath the shade of the apple tree by the Living River. The water glides upon mossy rocks and in between roots that stick out by the bend. I let the sun kiss my lips as I rest my head against the trunk. “Life Everlasting,” the wind sings as it spins my hair.
“You know me, Spirit,” I whisper. “You know every detail of my life, and still you call me deeper. Here I will rest in Your Eternal Life. I will stay here like this tree that is planted by your Living River. You are my water, where else can I go?” The depravity of my soul cannot sustain me. My boredom with Spirit cannot fascinate me with Beauty Incarnate. Spirit alone is the One who sings mercy. But oh, how I can rest in Him! His righteousness is my confidence to rest. His name is Revelation and Wisdom and when he speaks “Life” he speaks wisdom to my soul. “Life” He beckoned as I wrestled with death. “Life” is the very Revelation of the wisdom of a life laid down. A life wasted at the feet of Beauty Incarnate. Wisdom in His eyes is folly in mine, but He still sings mercy to my soul as I say yes day in and day out.
This is my beautiful fascination, to rest here under His shade as He sings mercy to the locked garden hidden away. I am weak but He still delights in me. The only sustenance for a life laid down is to trust in the song of the Spirit. When He sings, I can see Beauty Incarnate.
