Half of the time that God speaks to me, I am not listening. I’m usually distracted or I don’t realize He is trying to tell me something until way later. Earlier this week, as a step to abide in the love of God, our team agreed to personally identify lies the enemy was leading us to believe. It can be easier to fight a lie once it is identified and a group can come around you.
I kept feeling this week that my words didn’t really matter and don’t make an impact for the kingdom when I do speak. To battle these lies, we challenged ourselves to find what the Lord says about us in Scripture.
Of course, I forgot to dedicate time to this activity all week. Nettie reminded me while I was in the shower literally five minutes before our team time on Friday that we would be declaring our truths. Oh, crap. In my haste, I asked the Lord to reveal something to me. The words I got in return were, Your story matters. Cool, God. Thanks for stating the Beauty for Ashes motto. I chewed on those words as I rinsed my hair. I realized that I didn’t truly believe that MY story mattered. I believed that other women’s stories could make an impact on those around them but mine wouldn’t.
FALSE. Vulnerability is a huge focus on the World Race. As a way to build trusting community, were were told to share our full testimonies with our teams. Yeah, in my head I knew it was a necessary thing, but my inner self was curled up in the fetal position from the thought of people knowing EVERYTHING about me. I can’t say there was one person that knows every little thing about me before this. But I shared, I didn’t die, but Nettie cried. In that moment, I realized how much my own story shows God’s love and His desire to restore His creation to Himself.
Back to the shower. I understood why He told me these words, but I was supposed to come to my team with Scripture. I could see God throwing up His hands in the air. Kristie, I showed you all week how much your words matter. Is this not enough? My words to you now are just as important as my Scripture. You want Scripture? Fine, but I already shared it with you earlier this week.
Already? How on Earth did I miss this? Well, I probably wasn’t listening.
At the women’s meeting, we read from John 4. The woman at the well. She, too, had a story and it wasn’t pretty. It was also full of shame, pain, and isolation. Yet, when she went back to her town, a place of rejection for her, she proclaimed the Messiah had come. And the people followed her. If she allowed her shame to overwhelm her, those people would never have met Jesus. It was because of her words that people met Him.
My story matters. Through my story, others can see the work of the Lord in my life. My story brings people to meet the Lord in ways they have never experienced. And when they meet Jesus, they get to receive the same healing and deliverance I now have.
