Can I get a Witness?

Testimonies are a big deal. They are the way people hear about what God is doing in the world, and in our own lives. Many Nicaraguan churches take testimony so seriously that they provide open mic times in the majority of their services so that people can talk about what God has done in their lives. People share stories of healing, economic provision, conversion, or thanksgiving for their blessings most of the time. These opportunities for sharing about what God has done are important.

However, sometimes we don't have a testimony that seems right to share with everyone. Not everyone has a conversion story. Not everyone has been healed. Not everyone has had a child or gotten a job or aced a test. What do we do in those times? Those moments when we are still in the midst of the storm, still in the tribulation, still searching for the answer? The church often doesn't give space for those who are wrestling with questions. We don't want to hear about your struggle - we want victory! We don't want to listen to your pain - we want healing! We believe in a God who answers prayer, after all.

True, but sometimes the answer to our prayer is "no" or "wait." And what is our role in those moments?

The way I read the Bible, a Christian's primary calling is to be a witness. Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8,
 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
We are not the ones who build the Kingdom of God - we simply point to it with our words and our lives. We make disciples by baptizing, by teaching, by sharing.

But I don't read anything about only sharing the good stories. I see verses in the Bible about God being strong in our weakness. I see stories where God used the last, the lost, and the least to do his work. And yes, they shared about it afterward. But maybe some of the most important testimonies we can give are the ones where we are vulnerable, where we are hurting, where we are weak - and we don't have a happy ending yet. Maybe we won't on this side of glory. But our witness to God's faithfulness in the midst of struggle and doubt and sadness is just (if not more) important as our witness to God's victory in our lives.

After all, a witness doesn't talk about themselves at all; they talk about what they have seen and experienced. If a person sees a traffic accident, no one blames the witness, thinking that they should have done something to stop the accident or that it was their fault somehow. Whether the accident victims live or die has nothing to do with the witness; they just help people know what happened. In a similar way, our testimonies help people know who God is and what He does. So why would we judge the person who has a struggle testimony yet applaud the person who shares a victory if the story is all about God either way?

We need to create spaces where we can share our stories - the good and the bad, finished and unfinished. Maybe that's an open mic in church. Maybe that's a blog. Maybe it's coffee time once a week. Maybe it's something entirely different. The important thing is to share, to talk about what God is doing, and how the moment we are in reminds us of his character - his goodness, his power, his faithfulness, his love, his grace... And let's show each other a lot of grace and compassion and encouragement in the midst of the good and the bad. God's not finished yet.