When Your Testimony Sounds Like A Lie
Let me start with a confession, the title of this piece is not an original. I saw the phrase in an Instagram post of a well-known Christian content creator, and it made me think, “Do I have a testimony that sounds like a lie?”
The answer was undoubtedly ‘Yes’, but before we get into the details of that testimony, let’s think about why anyone would think that a testimony is a lie. Are we saying God is incapable of doing great things or is it just an excuse we give when we want to keep our testimonies to ourselves for fear of being labeled “over-spiritual”? I’ll be first to own up to the fact that I have been a victim of the latter several times. Remembering this scripture, however, has helped me reorder my thoughts in recent times.
“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 10:33
I don’t know about you but the mere thought of Jesus being ashamed of me quite frankly makes me shudder. The thought of not hearing “thou good and faithful servant” from my loving Father breaks my heart in several places.
Of course, sharing a testimony, popularly known as a praise report, should also not be an avenue for us to brag or put our baked goods in the showcase before they had the chance to brown properly. In everything, balance is key and more importantly, I believe the best time to share a testimony is when you have a prompting from the Holy Spirit to do so. When that prompting comes, this scripture is a good tool to ward off fears that may lead you into disobedience. It certainly worked for me!
I was on a lunch break when a colleague forwarded an Instagram post that highlighted my career journey. In subsequent days, 3 other websites featured the post as articles. I then began to ask myself, “why this?, why now?” I was already two years into the job, and not the only one to have secured a position of that nature, so what was there to fuss about? How did this suddenly become news and of all the people in the world with remarkably grander stories, why was mine told? As these thoughts floated through my mind, I was prompted that perhaps there was an untold testimony to be shared. My journey to starting a role at Microsoft was quite the roller coaster and yes, I had shared the testimony of how I finally got in before, but only to a small audience because I had thought that perhaps my testimony would be thought of as a lie, or I would be thought to be over-spiritualizing the issue. Today however, I tell this story to encourage anyone who is waiting on God for the fulfillment of a Word. Be it a promise from the Bible, a prophesy received, or a conviction during a time of prayer, God is still in the miracle working business and He cares about every aspect of your life.
I was pursuing an internship when news about the open roles at Microsoft first started being circulated at my school. They had asked interested applicants to participate in a hackathon, but I was unable to join because of the nature of my internship so I thought, oh well, perhaps I am not supposed to be on this bus. I shall let it pass. Prior to this, a year earlier, I had received a prophesy from a man of God who said an international company was going to be come to Africa and select people from different countries for a project and I will be one of them. For some reason, I never thought this prophesy was career related, I thought it had to do with education, like a master’s program or something of the sort but I was thankful for the Word and kept it in my heart. Fast forward to another few weeks, and the Microsoft recruiter sent word that they were having screening interviews for the roles advertised and anyone could apply even if you hadn’t previously participated in the hackathon. God had changed the rules in my favor, but I didn’t even know it yet.
I kid you not when I say that after every round in the recruitment process, I was sure that I wasn’t going to make it through. I would give myself a pat on the back and say, “Well at least you tried”, only to receive an email with the words “Congratulations, you made it to the next round”. There was no way I was going through this on my own. Zechariah 4:6 had never been so real to me. I literally felt like God had held my hand and was pulling me through to fulfill His Word because my personal qualities couldn’t possibly cut it. After the last round of onsite interviews, I remember coming back to my room, lying flat on the floor, and telling God, “I know I’m not smart enough for this”. “Do not give me this job unless you promise to be with me and help me.” A few minutes later the phone rings and the voice on the other line says, “Congratulations, we are happy to offer you a role at Microsoft”.
I literally felt like I was dreaming but God’s hand didn’t stop moving. The next year was filled with battles in prayer; pastors, friends and family members lifted my petitions to God daily as I tried surmounting various hurdles in the immigration process. I saw so many miracles happen before my eyes — from getting approvals that people had said were virtually impossible to get, to documents which had basically been lost being miraculously recovered. Did I mention that I also got into a team at Microsoft that was not hiring through the recruitment program I applied to? They found me a spot on the team because I had shown interest. I could harp on each of the miracles that took place during this period for days. Through it all, God was telling me, “Behold I do a new thing”. “I will bring it to pass”. Two years and two promotions later, I can testify that His Word is Yes and Amen!
The greatest prayers I have ever prayed are for the will of God. Think about it, if He planned and designed the world that we live in from the solar system and the water cycle to pollination, would He not do a better job at planning our lives than we could ever do for ourselves? It’s funny how we can sometimes be convinced that God’s will for us will make us live unfulfilling or even boring lives. When we begin to understand the combination of God’s greatness and His love for us, we are better able to appreciate how preposterous that thought process is. If your Christianity is boring, don’t put it on God. He is the author of the most exciting adventures.
Have you been putting off starting your own adventure with Him? Don’t procrastinate a second longer. Kindly pray with me, “God, I thank you for the gift of your son Jesus, I believe in His power to save me from my sins and I accept Him into my life today.” Welcome to the kingdom of God’s people! Find a Bible believing family to join today and dm me @serwa_hemma on Instagram or Twitter if you have questions on your new journey. I may not have all the answers, but I’ll be happy to help you find them.
This is my blood of Jesus covered testimony. What is yours?
