Newsletter  -  Friday, August 12, 2011

What's your story?

In his song, “Next Thing You Know”, Matthew West shares his salvation testimony beginning at the age of thirteen when he first gave his heart to Jesus. In the last verse, Matthew describes his vision of Heaven with the saints sharing their incredible testimonies of God’s goodness. He ends this verse with these thought provoking lines, “So what’s your story about His glory? You’ve got to find your place in the history of grace”.

We all have at least one testimony about God’s grace, love, kindness, salvation and miracle working power in our lives. Recently, the Lord clarified my understanding that our testimonies are not just for us, but they are to be shared to heal a hurting world. To underscore His message, Jesus has put person after person in my path with incredible testimonies for the past several months. I hope this newsletter begins to stir up your memories of what the Lord has done for you and encourages you to let them bring life to those around you.

Last autumn, the Lord told me that at this year’s DIFC Creative Worship Arts Conference in South Africa , we were to present an evening called: Face to Face, a journey into intimacy and I was to dance my testimony. Often I say “yes” to the Lord before understanding what His directive looks like. Dance my testimony? That was an out of the box/out of the comfort zone revelation. I wasn’t to dance to a song, but actually tell my personal testimony. I questioned if people would understand that part of the journey into true intimacy with the Lord would mean going through heartache and pain. Face to face intimacy can only come through transparency, vulnerability, real emotions, and straight communication between two people. Dance that?

The precious testimony God required of me was the story of my two miscarriages. This particular time in my life dives into some of the most painful emotions and darkest thoughts I have ever experienced, but the Holy Spirit wanted me to tell it through dance. One of the sweetest moments in my life was when and how He healed my heartbreak following the loss of my second child. If you have my eBook, then you may remember this story in the chapter about choreography when I share about the dances of Heaven.

I wrote the narration of my testimony dance, worked with my husband, Wiesiek, to put music behind the narration and then we recorded it. To dance or dramatize the testimony, I had basic props: two chairs to depict a couch, a Bible and a black scarf. Wiesiek portrayed Jesus and young girl from Dunamis International Family Church in South Africa danced as my daughter.

I would like to share the written narrative with you:

The year 1994 began with a celebration of joy. The Lord had worked the miraculous once again and we were expecting our first baby.

But my dancing turned to grief when I lost our son and with him a testimony of God’s unlimited power. 3 years earlier, my husband was healed from a death sentence of cancer, but the result included the diagnosis that we would never have children.

But we had been pregnant.

Five months later, it was confirmed that once again I was going to have a baby. Family and friends rejoiced with us, but once again agony pierced my soul as I lost this baby too, our daughter.

Two miracles, two children, two testimonies ripped from me within a year.

Sorrow covered me with heaviness and for the next month I questioned God. I searched for His loving kindness. “Let me see your face, Jesus! I need to feel your heart beat. I need to know that you still love me.”

As I prepared to teach on dance for a worship conference, I sat alone in our living room pondering over the words of Psalm 30:11

“You have turned my mourning into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”

I began to weep. I cried out to God, “I can’t teach this, Lord. I don’t understand it. It’s not real to me. I am still mourning. I’m still wearing sackcloth. Jesus, You need to make it real to me!”

I buried my face in my hands and let out great heaving sobs, and as I did, a tangible change occurred in the room. I looked up blinking through my tears. The room was still as it had always been, but a whole other realm had been transposed into it. Clearly, this was the throne room of God and it had become visible in my living room!

Music began to resound and the joy in the atmosphere began cleansing my soul.

Then, I saw her; a small girl with bouncing blonde hair whirling in dance before the throne. I knew instantly this was my daughter whom I had lost just weeks before.

Then Jesus himself called me to join in the dance. In His glorious, marvelous, kindness God allowed me to dance with my daughter. We whirled, we leapt, and we bowed together in celebration with the Most High King.

In those few precious minutes, God had miraculously turned my mourning into dancing, and exchanged my sackcloth of grieving for a garment of joy. 

He had brought me Face to Face and I will never be the same!

Dancing my testimony meant that I had to relive it all over again. The anguish, the tears, the healing when I danced with my daughter and intimacy of coming face to face with Jesus was real once more for me and all who watched.  It wasn’t until after we ministered this piece that I realized why the Holy Spirit had me dance this particular testimony. Every day for a week after that evening’s program, women and men approached me and proceed to tell me about losing one of their children and how the Lord used my danced testimony to bring them healing and reconciliation with God. Those who watched were touched by the depth of loving-kindness our Lord has for each one of us and His desire to turn our mourning into dancing; past hurts were healed and many gave their hearts to the Lord.

This testimony also opened the door to share more of God’s amazing power. I was asked by several people if I had ever been able to carry a child to full-term and I was blessed to share about my two miracle births of Jean and Joseph. That is another amazing testimony of pushing into intimacy and calling on God’s character to show His faithfulness.

Back to the testimonies of what the Lord has done in your life; this is a season where we have to understand the Lord is shifting the way things are done. For years dancers, mimes, interpretive movers, singers, and creative artists have found songs that spoke to them and then passionately expressed that song through their art. But the Lord wants us to begin adding our own story, reality and transparency when we minister. He said to me, “How do you overcome the enemy?” Of course that took me to Revelation 12:

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,

   “It has come at last—
      salvation and power
   and the Kingdom of our God,
      and the authority of his Christ.
   For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
      has been thrown down to earth—
   the one who accuses them
      before our God day and night.
 ¹¹ And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
      and by their testimony.
   And they did not love their lives so much
      that they were afraid to die.” (NLT)

The Lord said, “I provided the blood of the Lamb, your responsibility is to give the testimony”.

Don’t be afraid to be real, exposed, and vulnerable; tell your story and let it bring life to those in need. This is your part of the battle; don’t back down.

So what’s your story about His glory? Come on and find your place in the history of grace.

Worship Steps is regularly donating teaching materials to believers in ministry throughout many third-world nations and Godly outreach organizations that are in need of resources. Please help us continue to do so. If the Lord lays it on your heart to partner with us as we invest in the Kingdom of God throughout the world, please know that your financial contribution is appreciated and tax deductible.