He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what He has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD . . .
The above words penned by David, the man after God’s own heart, tell the story of my testimony, too.
I was in a horrible pit.
Laid waste.
Trapped by the enemy’s deceit and lies.
Swallowed in the sinful mire of my own making.
But Jesus, in His tender mercies, called out to me with a loud voice, shaking the gates of my imprisonment.
Bridging the chasm between us caused by the waywardness of my sins, He stretched His arms wide on a cross that should have been mine.
His love pulled me to Himself and breathed resurrection life into the death of my soul.
He called me to follow Him, laying out the path before me.
He steadied my footing on the foundation of freedom that He provided. A foundation firm and immovable, standing against the gates of hell itself.
Jesus sang a love song into my spirit and invited me to join in harmony with Him. We sing this sweet melody of salvation together, declaring the goodness of a Father who calls us His beloved.
No longer am I an enemy of God.
No longer an orphan, alone and unnamed.
I am gifted the spirit of adoption into the heavenly realms.
I have become a joint heir with Jesus to sing my Father’s worth and fame.
Indeed, it is a hymn of praise to our God.
MY God.
My testimony is secure in His faithfulness.
My soul saved by His grace alone.
May all who see this wondrous work be awed and put their trust in the Lord.
My testimony is one declaring, “I am my Beloved’s, and He is mine.”
All because God so loved the world.
And I have simply chosen to join the ranks of the “whosoevers” who believe.
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This post was written in conjunction with https://fiveminutefriday.com/2022/10/20/fmf-writing-prompt-testimony/ Teaming up with an online group of writers who encourage others to share the words God has given them. The gist is to write for five minutes on a one-word prompt, then post your writing and link up with others who do the same — no overthinking, no deep editing, just free-writing in a short amount of time.
This post took more than 5 minutes ! Still, I love the passion in your words describing how Jesus pulled you from a place of despair to freedom. Well done!
Guilty as charged. 🙂 I seldom set a timer for the FMF, but this post took about 15 minutes to actually write. Adding the photo, tags, and formatting is what takes me the longest, though. I’m definitely technologically-challenged. Lol The Scripture from Psalm 40 has always been my “testimony” verse, so it was easy to let the words flow from there. I have so much to be thankful for — My Savior is amazing, just like His grace! Thanks for stopping by, Sheila!
This is beautiful, Barbara! Thank you for encouraging my heart today. ~Lisa, FMF #2
I’m glad you were encouraged, Lisa. <3
Amen! I’m so glad I’m your neighbor at FMF :). My life testimony has been one of progress and growth–little changes that equal a big change. God isn’t finished working with me yet (thankfully!).
Little changes in the hands of our Father equal big blessings, indeed. I’m thankful He is patient and continually at work in making us more like Jesus. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7
May His power grow ever-greater in you, Anita.
Barbara, normally I would leave a really lame sonnet as a comment.
Not today. I am in awe of your honesty.
A great post, Barbara! “My testimony is secure in His faithfulness. My soul saved by His grace alone.” So very true of me too. Thanks for sharing. Your FMF neighbour, visiting from #21 this week.