Our Testimony

Many of us tell our testimonies, simply defining them as our story.  But Graham Cooke looks at it differently.  He says our testimony is not our past, that is our story…our testimony is what God is really like, the nature of God.  What we understand about God and who He really is to us, is what we will proclaim.  God defines who we are, not our past, our fears or are present circumstances.

To me, God has always been patient.  Amongst other things as well, but absolutely patient.  The bible says, “Love is patient” and since God is love and literally doesn’t know how to be anything different, He simply is not only the purest form of love, but also the purest in patience.  He has walked through so much crap with me, been patient for years while my back was turned and even still today, He stands oh so patiently at my side and even patiently waits for me to catch up!

But you see, for so long my understanding stopped there.  Today however, I understand it goes far beyond that.  He not only displays His character, but wants me to get it too.  And then, just when I think I know, He takes it even further.  The truth remains, He too, is interested in us becoming more like Him.  However in order to do that He needs to go deeper.  He not only shows and teaches us His greatness, but places it at the very core of our being.

You see, Jesus was fully man too, something that is harder to understand at times than Jesus being fully God.  Though fully God and fully Man at the same time…simply stated, His man side was fully man, just like you and I.  Hard to grasp, right?   So in order to make us more like Him, I believe it’s a lot simpler than we make it out to be.  (Not always easy, but simple!)  He is not going to give us wings and magic fairy dust; He is most purely going to give us His character…that is the distinctive nature of who He is.  It is love, patience, kindness, goodness, etc, etc.  Those happen in the natural…not with fairy dust, thus we will obtain it through our natural lives.

Though God is many things to me, His patience is what I see time after time.  I don’t fully understand something’s in life right now, nor do I particularly like them all, but I trust Him and honestly count it all as gain…His peace has not left me.  I know there’s more, but if the only reason I’m going through this season of learning, knowing and becoming patience is to live it and give it…then it’s all worth it!  You see, the more I become like Him, the more I look like me and the more I look like me, the more I look like Him.  What life’s all about, right?

Cooke says, “He will not rest Himself until we have a revelation of what He is really like and then He has to back that revelation up with experience.”  I’m in a time of experience, a time to truly become more like Jesus, to have character like Him.  I wouldn’t have played it out quite like this, but then again when did my ways become better than His?  More and more each day I become more reliant on His character and integrity, and that is where I will forever find my greatest happiness.  My testimony is who God is, He is a patient loving God who will forever hold me in the palm of His hand and nothing can change that.  Does our story, our circumstances or even our day define us or our testimony?

“There are no longer good or bad days, only days of GRACE.  Some days the GRACE OF GOD allows us to ENJOY what is happening and somedays the GRACE OF GOD allows us to endure what is happening.” GC

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