1) Write the “before” part of your story. 2) Pray that God would help you remember important parts of your story. 3) Pray also that He will give you courage and boldness when the opportunity comes to tell your story.
Knowing Him 50: Obedient Leadership
Introduction Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its...
I became a believer in my sophomore year in high school so I was still so young and didn’t know much of the world back then, but here’s my “before” story. I was raised in a Christian household for about 3 generations already, we go way back with our faith and the encounters my great grandparents had with the missionaries that first came to Vietnam. Being raised in a safe environment I was not exactly able to exercise my belief in the way I wanted and was only going to church because my parents were devoted to the church and I had to tag along. It wasn’t until I was playing the keys and found out I was pretty decent at it and I started getting better. One thing after another I started playing keys for the church back in VN and here in the States as well. I had been playing since 3rd grade all the way until now and up until the time I was baptized, I remember resenting serving in the church, saying why do I have to play week in week out, though I had no problem playing, I just simply didn’t want to serve God with the talent He gifted me. I was complaining nonstop as to why I couldn’t go out to play with my friends and I was stuck here playing worship, doing something I didn’t really enjoy. Before I understood God’s gift me and how He wanted me to use it to praise and serve Him, I was filled with such resentment and discontent (of course I was also young and immature) and I did wanna anything to do with my playing music even though I was ok at it. Needless to say, my spiritual life wasn’t all there at the time.
God, I pray that You would give boldness and courage to talk about my story with Your people, the people you died and bled for. Use me as an instrument of Your good work so they would know who you are and your redeeming saving power. Help me remember all the important parts of my story when telling it so that no details of changing power will be left out, amen.
1) My parents passed away when I was young, so early on I was sent to live with my sister, and through this attended Catholic school for much of my life. This was my earliest experience of religion, and, looking back, I always had the idea that I needed to do good works to get to heaven. At the age of 17, my older brother then also passed away from a brain tumor, and at this point in my life l made a very conscious decision that, though I still believed in the existence of a Creator, I didn’t believe that He cared much for me, so I didn’t care much for Him. This led very quickly into a life of alcoholism and addiction, and I decided to dedicate myself to pursuing that which made me feel as good as possible at all times, even if it killed me. I just didn’t care. Somewhere in my mid-twenties, I lost all ability to maintain the illusion of manageability in my life with my addiction, and ended up homeless, living on the streets. I remember feeling desperate, hopeless, and even somewhat suicidal, but I was still far from being done. I spent nearly ten years on and off the streets, and in time became resigned to the fact that I was going to die there, most likely drunk and/or loaded. Drugs and alcohol were the gods I served, and they were brutal masters indeed. If there was a real God, I reasoned, He certainly never did very much for me. I had absolutely no purpose or sense of usefulness, and felt as though the world would be a slightly better place without me in it.
2) Lord, help me to remember the parts of my story that would bear significance and help me to identify with others that may be suffering.
3) Give me the courage and boldness to continue to share my story when the opportunities arise, in a way that brings glory to You and Your power at work in my life.
Before Christ, I was an insecure and anxious girl who cared a lot about what others thought. I strived for perfection and the approval and praise from other people and thought that it would satisfy me. I yearned for love and contentment in the wrong places.
Lord, I pray that you remind me of the parts of my life that can be shared for your glory. Give me wisdom to recognize the opportunity and the courage to share how you’ve shaped my life.
1) Before I met Jesus and accepted Him, I felt lonely, lacked patience, and had seen the dark side of the world. I frequently felt lonely because I didn’t know how to properly engage with others, and I believed that doing everything by myself was easier and faster than interacting with others.
2) 3) Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for giving me a beautiful new day today. I pray that you help me remember the important parts of my story. I will continue to learn more about you, so please give me your wisdom when the time comes for me to share my story with someone. Thank you for the privilege of being a vessel for your message of hope and redemption. May my story be a testament to your grace and mercy, inspiring others to seek you and find hope in your promises. Thank you for your love and presence in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
My lifestyle before Christ was pretty dry, boring, and full of works. Meaningless works. I wasn’t socializing with anyone at all, because I was taught to hate the world and everything in it, and I wouldn’t engage in anything because I didn’t even have a social life. I felt pretty restricted for my whole life, and I felt emotionally numb in my day to day life, because I was too afraid to express myself, which kinda restricted me from having a social life and engaging with other people. I dealt with challenges, setbacks, and crises by watching YouTube and scrolling through social media, because I didn’t want to tell anyone what I was feeling. I felt like something was lacking in my life, specifically with freedom, because I wasn’t free to do anything, I wasn’t free to express myself. I wasn’t free to enjoy my life. My hopes and dreams were to be a good person and to have a lot of money because I wanted to prove myself that I was good enough, that I was worthy, and I didn’t want people to look down on me. My relationships were pretty wonky. I didn’t really have a good relationship with my parents back in the day because I felt like that I could go my own way without their guidance, and like I said earlier, I wanted to prove myself, and I wanted to prove that I could do it without my parents’ guidance or advice. I didn’t really turn to anyone for help or advice for I trusted in myself to do the work. I satisfied my inner needs by trying to do good works, and trusting in them. I was dealing with a lot of pride, loneliness, arrogance, and ignorance. Spiritually, I was trapped and drained out, because I was trusting in my works, trusting in myself more than God, and I didn’t allow myself to engage with anyone, because I trusted in myself only, and I couldn’t trust anyone else because I wanted to do the work so that I could get the credit.
before I was very lost and felt like my worth was determined with what I did with my life. Especially with SAT score, which school I got into, and sports accolades. lord I ask you to help me not forgot that I was a wretch before I came and knew you and found that you died for my sins. Lord I also pray and ask for courage for anyway I can share my story and how you have changed it.
I find it fascinating to hear people’s stories. Growing up in a Christian household, I was exposed to good values from a young age, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t always embrace being a Christian. In fact, there was a time when I strongly disliked it. I used to criticize my own family, calling them hypocrites because they seemed overly concerned with appearances and how others perceived them, especially if they didn’t behave perfectly. My attendance at church was more about proving to my parents that I was a good kid rather than genuinely engaging with the faith. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very kind to others either. I found myself aligning with the popular crowd at school, using my social status to bully those who weren’t as well-liked. I caused trouble and had a stuck-up attitude because my family was financially comfortable, which led me to look down on kids from less privileged backgrounds and even mock them.
Oh God, as I reflect on my past, I am grateful that you sacrificed yourself to redeem me. Without your grace, I know I would deserve hell. It still astonishes me that you have chosen me to serve you. I am humbled by your redemption. When I look back, I see how unkind and hurtful I used to be. Thank you for giving me another chance. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
(Dylan)
Before I met Christ, I felt an empty void. I tried filling this void by spending time with friends, family, exercise, career, or even school. I soon realized that all these factors were not enough to fulfill a person to their fullest. No matter how much one can achieve in, one will still feel like it’s not enough. I learned the only person that could fulfill our upper most needs was Jesus and his Holy Spirit. I pray that God will give me the courage not only to help myself but to help others around me.
1) Before I met Jesus and accepted Him, I felt lonely, lacked patience, and had seen the dark side of the world. I frequently felt lonely because I didn’t know how to properly engage with others, and I believed that doing everything by myself was easier and faster than interacting with others.
2) 3) Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for giving me a beautiful new day today. I pray that you help me remember the important parts of my story. I will continue to learn more about you, so please give me your wisdom when the time comes for me to share my story with someone. Thank you for the privilege of being a vessel for your message of hope and redemption. May my story be a testament to your grace and mercy, inspiring others to seek you and find hope in your promises. Thank you for your love and presence in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Before I met Christ, I would always go to church but never felt like I had a connection with God. I had felt like I had other important priorities to do and that going to church was something my parents made me do. I had bad beliefs in what was more important when I was younger like fitting in and partying. I believe the biggest difference now is that my mindset is completely the opposite now. I find myself trying to connect with God in every aspect of what I do now whether it be my job, friends, and future goals. Dear God, please help me remember every part of my story whether it’s the bad or good parts of it. Help me understand that there is a reason for everything that has happened in my life. The good and bad times has made me into who I am today. Allow me to continue to share my story with others to help motivate those who are also searching for God.