How to Tell God's Story in Your Life
John, the beloved disciple, penned the most cryptic book in Scripture, writing in a literary genre that has confused people for centuries. The final book in the New Testament has a significant theme that is not confusing, which is the fact that Jesus is coming again.
In the final words of Scripture, we read that the body of Christ overcomes Satan by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony about Him (Revelation 12:11). The gospel is the key to salvation for those who hear and believe. The apostles and first-century disciples used biblical history and personal examples of their conversion to spread the message of Jesus. Using this biblical narrative of Creation – Fall – Decline – Redemption – Exodus – Law – Promise as a template, I hope that you gain some confidence in sharing God’s story in your own life with others. As you read through my story using this paradigm, note those similarities or light bulb thoughts that allow you to relate to the biblical narrative or of my testimony. This template has become an effective tool for pastoral counseling, as I have learned to ask better questions because of this model to draw out the story of others and encourage them on their faith journeys. I strongly urge you to see how your own story fits into this paradigm. Tell His story in your life! The evil one is overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies. Be a good steward of His story in your life. Make Him known!
In the beginning, it was good
For me, it was big meals together at Grandmother’s and Granddad’s house on Sundays with extended family. All my aunts and uncles and cousins would be together. Life was good. Then, around the age of four, I realized that not everything was good, which brings us to the reality of the Fall. Each of us has experienced a turning point from good.
Using this paradigm, I have developed questions to draw out the stories of others. Look at the beginning of Genesis. Everything was good. Can you remember your early years? Do you recall a time of innocence in your life? Think of memories of being with family; share a time when life was good and carefree.
Turning point from good
Not only did I notice at three or four years old that my uncle with Cerebral Palsy, Tommy, could not walk or talk, but I also started to see that other kids playing outside at the playground had a dad. How come Tommy could not walk? Why didn’t I have a dad? Leave it up to a little kid to think something like, “Maybe if I am very well behaved and do things better than other kids, I’ll have a dad.” But sometimes you do not do everything better than other kids. Not everything was good in my understanding of the word. The brokenness of the world became evident to a child.
Can you recall a moment when you became aware of the fact that not all things are good? For some people, this was a series of events. For some, the turning point was due to traumatic circumstances. Share a specific moment of realization when you were aware of your imperfection or brokenness in the world. From the moment of things turning from good in your life, were you aware of how bad the situation truly was, or did it take time to realize the brokenness?
Spiraling out of control when seeking to do things your way
Despite some good moments along the way, things went from bad to worse as I entered a Decline in my thinking. My mom got married, and everything was great, in my opinion. My stepdad, Gary, was a great father to me. He was very encouraging. Also, when I was ten years old, he adopted me. My name changed from Joseph Paul Smith to Joseph Paul Crum. It was the best day of my life!
The day I was adopted left me feeling worthy of love and valued more than any other day previously. My dad is and has always been my dad since marrying my mom. However, divorce entered the discussion, and my response was to stay away from home and then dive into substance abuse to medicate my longing for family. Substance abused defined me during my teen years. Things got dark, and I am not talking about light bulbs burning out. I got involved in my form of sorcery. Very prideful. Not good.
Was there a period when you decided to pursue things that only hurt you and everyone around you? There is a time when many of us seek to be independent of the authority of God. Be honest with yourself about your selfishness during this time. We all have sin in common, so you do not need to share every detail of your depravity.
God intervenes
I was sitting in front of a home in Burnsville, MN, in my mom’s totaled minivan. I had just consumed almost an entire 1.75-liter bottle of Southern Comfort in about an hour, and I crashed while driving. Everything leading up to that point suggested that I was becoming a danger to myself and everyone around me. While sitting in front of a residential home and the yard I destroyed by missing a 15 mph turn at high speed, I had a moment of sobriety, and I knew that God was real. 5-minutes earlier, I might have been agnostic at best, not caring one way or another whether God is real. Now, I had just experienced a miracle, knowing that I should be dead. I cannot tell you how I knew, but the conscious thought that angels were involved in protecting me was as valid as the fact that the sun causes sunburn. It was at that exact moment that I knew God was getting my attention when bright lights began flashing, and I was arrested for driving under the influence.
While in detox, a Native American gentleman – my idea of a spiritual guide – shared his desire to pursue his relationship with Christ rather than continue drinking. I knew what he was telling me was true. I believed that Jesus was part of the answer to the question of what I needed to do differently in my life. Unfortunately, it would be about five more years before I understood repentance and new life in Christ rather than “trying” to be a good person or at least “trying” not to do wrong. Regardless, this is the point in time when I had ears to hear that Jesus is more important than anyone in human history.
[It was not until September 2, 2003, that I can say with any degree of certainty that the Lord saved me from my sin.] It is a far distance from the brain of sinful man to his heart. For five years, I called myself a Christian. Now, I would say that I know Him, but we will get to that in a bit.]
Were you aware of a moment or period when God seemed to be getting your attention? Describe your awareness of the reality of God following a decline of morality. What was going on in your life when you were aware that God is mindful of you?
Coming out from your old way of life
After an encounter with God, my old ways were no longer satisfying. My friends seemed to be content with the same pattern of substance abuse, but it just was not working for me anymore. On an impulse, I decided to leave Minnesota to visit family in Texas to do some soul searching. The decision came while out with friends one night. After telling my boss at Stanley Steemer that I was taking a leave of absence, whether he agreed to it or not, I left. The goal was really to distance me from my former way of life. More specifically, the goal was to get away from substance abuse. A good friend, Sam Andrews, joined me once I got going on the trip, which turned into more than a year-long road trip. We traveled out to California and over to Florida and back again. Jessica, my cousin, joined us for one leg of the journey, which turned into an adventure of its own.
When I finally returned to Minnesota, I knew I did not belong there. George Bush was elected President of the USA, and I figured we were going to war, so I joined the Army. It took months to get accepted due to the DUI and other substance abuse-related tickets a few years earlier. During the return from wandering around the country, I was invited to a church by one of my old friends, Brian Elm. Brian was volunteering at an inner-city church, helping to coach youth in basketball and proclaiming that Jesus changed his life. I was shocked. Brian was the friend from my previous group of friends who I feel most people gave up on due to substance abuse. Yet, here he was, in a multicultural church, telling young people about Jesus.
God was sending me somewhere else, and I knew it. So, I joined the Army. Along the way, I got married. During the transition into a new life and new career, we ended up living on the side of a mountain in Honolulu with gorgeous views of Oahu. I loved my job, and I loved where we lived. It was a new life.
Were you prompted to leave your familiar surroundings? Can you recall needing to get a fresh start from the way you had been living? Not everyone has a Red Sea event but think back to the time following awareness of God and sharing any supernatural events you knew were from Him.
Trying to live better but still falling short
In Hawaii, my wife and I attended a local church. I felt like we were doing the right things. As my training ramped up in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan, I was gone a lot. In 2003, I was not home for more than about a month, and I was typically training overnights away from home for reconnaissance four nights a week. While I genuinely enjoyed time exploring the island of Oahu, my focus was on being the best at my job. I brought work home often because being the best at my job was important to me, and it felt like at least a few guys in my unit looked up to me to lead by example. When I was home, everything seemed good to me during the short periods, so it did not make sense that my wife was not happy. I tried to do things I thought she would like, such as going to the beach, hiking to waterfalls, or going to a nice restaurant. I was trying.
During some training thousands of miles away, my pride in being such a great soldier had finally reached a point that led me far away from the moral code I had established for myself many years earlier. Being a good husband was providing a home and food, I thought. Not just that, but a home in Hawaii with a lovely view of the sunrises and sunsets above gorgeous city lights at night. It is sad to say, but I was cleaned up and sober for years at that point, and yet during two months in New York training West Point Cadets, I began drinking heavily and getting into trouble. “Too much freedom,” some said. So much for having any moral compass. So much for Jesus. I blew it. Knowing what is morally right is different than doing what is morally right.
My failure to do what is right and keep from doing what I knew to be wrong led to a meltdown. Poor decision-making left me a mess. After we finished training West Point Cadets in military mountaineering, I was getting on a plane back to Hawaii. Before I left for the airport in New York, an NCO from our unit took me aside and asked me a serious question. He was not Infantry, but he had a humble persona, and I was broken. He approached me as I left New York early to head to Hawaii because I was a mess. He asked, “Hey Crum, you’re a Christian, right?” I said, “Yes, Sergeant.” Then he said something I will never forget. He said something along the lines of, “Well, I thought so, but you know, a lot of guys look up to you. You are in a position that a lot of guys would love to have. You are a Sniper, Man! They hear you say you’re a Christian. They see you out drinking and partying with women, getting into fights. I’d challenge you to look for a good, Bible-believing church when you get back to Hawaii, and I’d challenge you to consider whether or not you have received the Holy Spirit of God.”
Nobody had ever mentioned anything about having the Holy Spirit of God to me before. I guess what I mean is that I had never heard that kind of language before. His words rattled around in my brain the entire flight back to Hawaii. What I heard was a message of grace that I was not too far gone for God to reach me. As soon as I returned home, I started attending New Hope Christian Fellowship, led by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro. I scheduled a counseling appointment with New Hope’s beloved Family Counseling Pastor, Larry Gillis. A giant of man, his calming demeanor offset any anxiety that he looked like he could grab a person to death with his monster hands. He communicated very clearly the message of God’s grace toward sinners through Christ to me that day. That night, looking out the window from our bedroom, overlooking Pearl City and Aiea, I received the Holy Spirit of God through repentance and total trust in Christ God, my Savior. I had indescribable peace. Somehow I knew that I was safe in God’s hands, and nothing could change that.
“Trying” is a critical word in this part of your journey. Knowing that the character of God is good and faithful 100% of the time, have you struggled with the knowledge that you are not? Share what it has been like as you have become more aware of God’s holy character. In what ways have you realized His perfect character and nature? Often, this awareness comes through our inability to attain perfection despite massive efforts.
New life of freedom
Life has been perfect ever since that wonderful day when grace called my name. Well, that is not exactly true. Despite a clear call from God to pursue the lifelong work of making disciples who follow Jesus while I was in Afghanistan in 2005, it has been a long, painful road to where I am today.
Many years later, the path lined with failures along the way to do right and avoid doing wrong, and I became frustrated. I have failed to live a life that other people should follow as an example. For three years, I sat waiting for things to blow up as a Security Advisor in Afghanistan after getting divorced. It was not a surprise. My goal of being a good father when I grew up failed to include being a good husband first. Yet, while wandering through the wilderness again and trying to find that rhythm to live a godly life in attempting to do what is right and avoid what is wrong, something clicked when I read Hebrews 3-4 regarding instruction not to follow the unbelief of the Israelites during the exodus. The author’s urge to enter God’s rest spoke to me. It is not about rules or being religious but about unbroken fellowship with the Creator of the universe. God seems to have no issue taking you and me through the desert for a few years or swallowing His messengers up by big fish when they want to go their way. He wants us to know Him and to make Him known to others.
Out of everything I have experienced in life and my walk with Christ, I have come to know that God is faithful 100% of the time. I am not. Despite my efforts to pursue my path, the Lord has always been constant, patiently waiting for me to put down my pride and continue growing in my relationship with Him. So, the gift God has given is not just forgiveness of sins, but eternal fellowship with Him starting now in this life.
The Creator made us for intimate, eternal, harmonious relationships. It is only through my brokenness from birth and through failed relationships that I have come to understand the people in the Bible better. It is because I have been broken and have received comfort and peace from God by His presence that I can empathize and be present with others going through difficult times. That is what I desire now; for God’s people to be known by their love for one another. I honestly believe that the only way to connect in the intimate way that God desires for us to be vulnerable and transparent with one another. We are called to share the burdens of others. I am learning to enter God’s rest by seeking Him moment by moment. Because He dwells within me, I have access to fellowship with Him throughout the day.
My desire is for people to know God more. The best way to help people know Him is to make Him known. My story is His story in my life. Without Jesus, I am hopeless. His patience with me is beyond merciful. His grace is sufficient through ongoing, broken relationships. I pray for others to know Him.
Lord, forgive me for my failure to trust that You are good. Save sinners and restore all that is broken. Help people know that You care for them. Thank You for demonstrating Your love toward me on the cross. Thank You for saving me. Please, Father, reveal Your goodness and faithfulness to more people.
Have you entered God’s rest? Describe what it has been like for you as you have remained in Christ. Key in on moments that have given new clarity and peace regardless of circumstances. Do you have joy and peace in the broken world? Share His goodness with others so that they can also experience Him.
