Whether you’re telling a story of initially putting your faith in Christ or a story from later in your walk with Him, there was a point where you saw your life change. You went from redeemed to restored. That’s what today is about.
Another way to think of this section of the story is that it answers the question, “So what?” Why did it make a difference in your life to put your faith in God? How did turning to Him during a difficult situation change your perspective and help you get through it? When telling someone else our story, this is the part that shows them it’s worth it to trust in Christ. This is where we saw our lives change.
It’s important to acknowledge that we are still far from perfect. We are works in process. The amazing thing is, we can see the work being done. We can see God at work in our lives. He is making us new!
In thinking through your story,
Make a list of specific changes and illustrations about the changes Christ has made:
God is always concerned with our hearts and relationship with Him. Many times, He doesn’t change the details of our circumstances but He changes our hearts. In Romans 5, Paul encourages us:
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (vv. 3–5)
This is the part of our story when we get to explain how God has brought us hope. He has changed us and is continually making us look more and more like His Son.
Ask yourself:
Why am I motivated differently now? How do I see myself and my situation differently than I did before? In what ways do I have more hope?
This is it! The grand finale to your story. The restoration. A good way to wrap up is to explain how the experience you’ve just described continues to give you hope.
It’s also a perfect transition to explain how God wants to do the same for everyone. Your story is the gospel lived out in your life. On our own we are a sinful mess and need a Savior (we are fallen). God enters our story and saves us (Jesus redeems). Once we have a relationship with God, He continues to change us and help us grow (God restores us).
We hope this week has been encouraging and insightful for you! Next week, we’ll talk about how to share our stories with others. Your story will encourage others and bring glory to our amazing God for all He has done in your life.