Did you hear what happened?

In Psalm 71 the psalmist is dealing with people who attack and accuse him. Clearly people around him are hostile to him and his faith. And so he seeks refuge in God but he does more. Rather than argue with his accusers or criticize them or give up on them, he resolves to tell them how good God has been to him. Read the following verses:

Psalm 71:15-18
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.
16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.

In v.17 we learn that the psalmist has been taught the faith from a young age. But the things of God have never lost their wonder to him. And so he continues to tell people about what God has done. In fact in v.18, as he contemplates his old age, he sees it as his calling, the one thing he MUST do before he dies, to make sure the next generation hears how good God has been to him. In Christian circles this is often referred to as “sharing your testimony.” But that often gets limited to how the person became a Christian. Are you passionate about telling people all the amazing things God has done for you?
 
My family and I are going through an unusual time. Moving back from Japan has come with some extraordinary challenges and God in His grace has shown His faithfulness in some extraordinary ways. Every time God answers a prayer, every time God shows Himself faithful, I try and tell as many people as I can. And I find the non-Christians in my life are every bit as amazed and encouraged as the Christians.
 
I was recently sharing with someone how we had faced some financial difficulties and God had answered our prayers in a series of amazing ways. He talked with me about it afterwards and said (obviously struggling for words), “That’s really freaky!”
 
God has answered prayers in amazing ways for our children as they have settled into schools this past month. I was talking with another person last week about what God had done for us and he said, “It just seems like you’ve been really, really lucky.” I replied, “Yeah, it’s almost impossible to explain apart from the fact that God is answering our prayers, isn’t it?”

If God has been good to you, tell people simply and gratefully. If God speaks to you through a message, share it with a co-worker on Monday morning. If God answers a prayer, tell people about it. And try to do so as naturally as someone who ate at a great restaurant on the weekend and wants others to hear about it. God's worthy of it!

In awe of Him,
Paul