“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4:24)

Yesterday someone shared with me one of the most incredible testimonies of God’s love that I’ve personally heard in a long time, if not ever.

When it comes to different forms of abuse, I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand why God, in the fullness of His power and sovereignty, allows some things to happen. What I do know is that the egregious sin that runs rampant in this fallen world and through us all as can be destructive beyond measure. And what I also know is that despite our circumstances, it is absolutely true that God will never leave us nor forsake us, and that He is there even when it feels like He’s not.

As Joshua led the Israelites across dry land through the Jordan river, He gave His people a testimony that would proclaim His power to all the earth. In the same way, testimonies I hear week-in and week-out, including the one from yesterday, continue to proclaim His power and reminds me that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Only through Jesus can we be saved and washed entirely clean from our sin-stained lives. Only through Jesus can the guilt, shame, and brokeness that results from our own sin or the sin of others upon us, be completely healed. Only through Jesus can we be fully restored from horrific suffering and seemingly irreversible trauma. Only through Jesus can a life that has been shattered to pieces, be made whole again.

If you are going through something in your life where it seems like God isn’t present or remains silent, both the Bible and the testimony of people over the entirety of history assures us that even then, He is there.

The difference I see is between those who cry out to the Lord and completely surrender themselves and their situation to Him, versus those who try to maintain control and aren’t willing to let go. The difference is between running to Jesus versus running to the world or relying on ourselves. I know it’s scary to let go, but we must trust that Jesus’ love and goodness supersedes anything else in this world that can bring us momentary comfort or fleeting control.

The Bible shows that our testimony is a unique gift that God gives each of us to proclaim His love, grace, mercy, and power in our lives– that we would bring glory to His Name while drawing others to Christ. The reality of how He loves and how He restores is what a dying world needs to hear and see.

Don’t hide the testimony of how God has moved in your life. The saints in the Bible didn’t, nor should we. It may be the one thing He uses to help bring another person from death to life.