Share Your Story

 By Carl Kimbro. Fellowship Bible Church Devotional Team, 12/1/2021

When we are struggling, we think about almost nothing else other than deliverance from our “hurts, habits & hang ups.” Often, we just want to give up and give in to the struggles we are facing. Attending Celebrate Recovery, we see people serving God and making a difference in the lives of others. We are thankful for them in our lives but in contrast, some of us have convinced ourselves that God could never use us like that.

God never lets a hurt go to waste. If we are willing to be used by Him, He will make our imperfections the very thing that leads others to freedom in Christ.


For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: “It is Zion, for whom no one seeks after!”  Jeremiah 30:17

For several years myself and a friend named Don have been leading a version of Life’s Healing Choices along with a small Bible Study group at Returning Home, a re-entry house for men in Springdale. Every ten weeks we ask someone to come and give their testimony. Recently, Derrick and LaNette from our CR family each shared their stories with the men in our group. They brought to life their own struggles with addiction, prison, lack of self-worth, and much more. Their stories resonated with the group. Each time they shared a struggle a defeat or a victory, you could see men nodding their heads. But more than that, you could see that through their victories, the men found something they really needed, and that was HOPE. Men who saw no end to their sins and struggles, suddenly saw through Derrick and LaNette that victory was possible in a relationship with Jesus.

 The Harvest is great, but the workers are few. Matthew 9:37

 What did Derrick and LaNette have in common? Both never imagined they could be free from their addictions. They never dreamed they would have something to offer fellow strugglers. They never thought they would share their story in front of a group of strangers. They never thought their story could lead anyone to Christ. Yet, when they heard Jesus say: “the harvest is great, but the workers are few,” they put aside their fears, and they went out to share the good news of their victory in Jesus. And God used their stories in miraculous ways.

We have so many in our Celebrate Recovery family who, like Derrick and LaNette, share their lives and their stories with others. Perhaps you are not yet one of them but would like to be. I encourage you to pray about it and consider how your story can change the lives of others. Then look for opportunities to share it. I promise you that you will both give and receive a blessing when you share what Christ has done in your life. I look forward to hearing your story someday soon.


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