“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
1 Peter 3:15
When asked to be a guest speaker at a recovery meeting, the speaker is usually given 30 minutes to share his/her story. As a general rule of thumb, they briefly talk about what life was like while they were actively drinking/drugging. Then comes the part about what happened that caused them to want to get sober. And the last bit, which is the most important part, is what life is like today now that they’ve been sober for a while.
I’ve been asked to share my recovery story on several occasions over the years. Although I’m not a polished speaker by any means, I’ve done it enough that I no longer feel nervous. For me, I’ve found it helpful to stick to that basic rule of thumb – what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like today. And speak from the heart. Nothing loses an audience quicker than a boring, rehearsed speech. That said, I do think it’s good (for me) to have a general idea of one or two things that I hope to communicate. One of those things is how God found me at the bottom of that pit of despair, how He stretched out His big ‘ol hand, and how He pulled me out and saved my life. Since living life on my terms nearly destroyed me, I figured that maybe it was time to start trying to live life on His terms.
Once in a while someone will come up to me after a meeting when I’ve shared my story and say, “I think your story would be a lot more powerful and relatable if Jesus wasn’t in it. Just saying.” I politely smile and tell them, “If it weren’t for Jesus, I would have no story to tell. Just saying. But if you’d like to hear more about that, I’d love the opportunity to talk more about it with you.”
I’ve yet to have anyone take me up on that, but maybe someday that will change. You see, my story lacks the power to change someone’s life. But my story can perhaps point them to Someone Who does have the power and Who can.
As Jesus came into the region of Gerasenes one afternoon, a man possessed by many demons came out to meet him. Jesus showed mercy on him by casting out every last one of those demons. Some of the townspeople who had seen this all happen were familiar with this man’s condition and knew what he was like. And then they saw him in his right mind and talking with Jesus. They knew what he was like. Then they saw what happened. And then they saw what he was like afterward. There truly is no greater testimony!
But this man who’d been healed, he began begging Jesus to let him come with him and his disciples. But Jesus had other plans for him. “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you,” Jesus told him. So the man went away and told everyone how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:19-20)
There’s a lot of people in this world who have no hope. I know what that feels like, I used to be one of them. But please, don’t ask me to not share the true reason for my hope today. God didn’t pull me out of that dark pit just so I could go away quietly and not tell a soul about what He did for me, how good He is, and what He can also do for others through His Son, Jesus Christ.
In fact, it wasn’t The Great Suggestion that Jesus gave every believer, but The Great Commission. “Go, make disciples.” In other words, “Go, tell everyone about me and what you have seen, teaching them to obey me.”
Imagine if all those people that Jesus healed went back home and said nothing.
“Hey, just two days ago you were lame and couldn’t walk. What happened?”
“Oh, I was just blindly walking along, living life and doing my own thing you know… and then I fell down into this huge dark pit.. and son of a gun… would you believe that my fall somehow healed my leg? I was able to actually jump up and out of that pit by myself, under my own power! This is the greatest thing I’ve ever done!
Peter didn’t say, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for how great you are.” No, he said, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
Not hope that you wish you had, but hope that you have.
Former Blackout Artist 