This week we’re looking at the last chapter in the book of Joshua, and we’re meditating on the power of our testimony.  As we’ve studied this book of scripture, we’ve repeatedly seen that God is faithful to his people.  We’ve also seen Joshua faithfully serve God, and here we are at the end of his life.  Joshua has run his race well.  His life is a testimony to how a faithful leader can affect a nation.

 

What’s your testimony?

 

Have you shared your testimony before?  Have you been taught how to write your testimony down?  I hadn’t been a Christian more than a few months, when someone asked me to write my testimony down, and share it in front of a group.  That felt amorphous, and daunting, but I was taught that a good testimony follows three basic plot points:

 

This is who I was.  This is how God met me.  This is who I am now.

 

Maybe you were taught something similar.  Maybe you focused on how walking with God has changed your life.

 

I used to be this way, and God did a work in my life, and my life looks different now.

This testimony framework is good.  It works.  There’s real power in your story, because no one can argue with what God has done for you, personally.  And I hope that walking with Jesus has brought about beautiful, supernatural transformation in your life.

 

But how many of us might say, ‘My testimony isn’t that great?  It’s a little boring, even?  I’ve got nothing to share, because God didn’t heal me of an incurable disease, or deliver me from a hopeless addiction, or redeem me from some profound loss, or trauma.’

 

Maybe you grew up in a Christian home.  Maybe you started walking with Jesus in grade school, and you don’t have a single memory where Christ isn’t present. Maybe that kind of testimony doesn’t seem very compelling.

 

Might I gently suggest that if this is a fear, that your testimony might be too centered around you? If we focus on how God has come into our story, a testimony can only go so far.

 

But what if we testified about GOD, and how we fit in his grand story of redemption, and not the other way around?

 

Joshua 24 shows Israel’s amazing testimony, but it’s woven in to the bigger story of God’s faithfulness, and redemption.  So as we consider this week’s passage, I want to offer a new testimony framework.  With slight, little tweaks, we’ll have a more beautiful, eternity-centered result.  Let’s try this framework:

 

This is who God is.  This is my response.  This is how it’s going.

 

I’ll see you on Thursday to further unpack this passage, and our testimonies.  Happy studying!