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Your Story Matters: How God Can Use Your Story to Draw Others to Him

I love a good story! No, really. I can’t turn away. My sister, Amy, knows if I start watching TV while I’m on the phone with her, and she’ll call me out on it! If I’ve been drawn into a story, I must know how it ends. I have to close the loop in my brain. I need closure! 😂

Stories are powerful. Much of the Bible is made up of stories, and they teach us so much. When we study the lives of others—their mistakes, their successes, their struggles, and their victories—we gain wisdom for living our own lives. We learn from their choices, see examples of faith in action, and discover how to navigate the challenges we face.

I was a homeschool mom for 12 years, and I’m not exaggerating when I say God used those years to teach me more than I ever taught my children. Much of our time was spent reading together, and I searched out the best books I could find to share with my boys.

Some of our favorite books were biographies of people who took great risks and accomplished extraordinary things. We had wonderful discussions about these men and women, their struggles, and the choices they made. Until I began reading biographies with my children, I hadn’t fully understood the powerful effect another person’s story could have on my own life.

Seeing how others had faced great adversity, pursued seemingly impossible goals, and acted courageously under pressure gave me a foundation of faith to draw from in my own life. Their stories reminded me that people had endured circumstances far more difficult than anything I had faced and had remained steadfast in their faith. They gave me hope for the future and examples to follow when I faced challenges of my own.

It has been my prayer that my children will remember those stories when they face some of their hardest moments in life. I want them to remember the faithfulness of God in the lives of others and find encouragement to trust Him in their own circumstances.

But have you ever stopped to think about your own story?

It’s easy to look at our lives and see them as insignificant or ordinary. We may wonder whether anything we’ve experienced is worth sharing. But there are people who need to hear what God has done in your life—not because you are great, but because He is great.

Your story is an example of the goodness and faithfulness of God. It may be the very thing that encourages someone else to hold on when they feel like giving up.

Jesus Sent Him Back to Tell His Story

Luke chapter 8 tells the story of a man whose life seemed utterly hopeless. He was tormented by demons, lived among the tombs, and went about without clothing. In another Gospel account, we learn that he also cut himself with sharp stones. The people in the surrounding area had tried to restrain him with chains, but he broke free. They were afraid of him, and he lived in isolation, tormented and alone.

Then one day, Jesus arrived on the shore.

Instead of running away from Jesus, this tormented man ran to Him and fell at His feet. When Jesus asked his name, he replied, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. We aren’t told how this man came to be in such a terrible condition, but we are shown how completely his life changed through the power and mercy of Jesus.

The demons recognized who Jesus was. They begged Him not to send them into the Abyss but instead to allow them to enter a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus gave them permission, and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran into the town and surrounding countryside to report what had happened. When the people came to see for themselves, they found the man who had once terrified them sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind.

What a miracle! A man who had been tormented and bound was now free.

But the townspeople’s response was interesting. Instead of rejoicing over the man’s restoration, they were afraid and asked Jesus to leave their region. He wasn’t welcome there.

The man Jesus had delivered asked to go with Him. Jesus had given him his life back. He wanted to stay close to the One who had set him free.

But Jesus gave him a different assignment.

“Return home and tell how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

Jesus sent this man back to the very people who had just rejected Him. They knew his story. They knew what his life had been like before Jesus came. They had seen his torment and feared him. Now they could see the difference for themselves.

This man was living proof of what God could do in a life that had once seemed hopeless.

And Jesus wanted him to tell them about it.

Your Story Can Go Where Jesus Isn’t Welcome

Sometimes, Jesus sends us to tell our stories to people who have rejected Him. Not so we can condemn them or argue them into believing, but so they can see His goodness and know that He cares about them.

Think about it. The people in that town didn’t need someone to explain that the man had been changed. They could see it with their own eyes. But they needed to know what had made the difference.

His story gave them a glimpse of the power and mercy of God.

And your story can do the same.

There are people in your life who may never walk through the doors of a church. They may not seek out a Bible study or ask someone to pray for them. They may not even be interested in hearing about Jesus right now. But they may be willing to listen to what God has done in your life.

When you share how God has carried you through a difficult season, answered a prayer, given you strength when you had none left, or brought hope into a seemingly hopeless situation, you are giving someone else a reason to consider what God might do in their life.

They may not respond right away. They may not even seem interested. But you never know when your words will come back to them in a moment of desperation, when they need hope and wonder whether God might help them, too.

Your story may be the reminder they need that God sees them, loves them, and is able to meet them in their circumstances.

Your story is powerful because it points to a faithful God.

It’s not about making yourself the hero of the story. It’s about showing others the One who has been faithful through every chapter.

So don’t underestimate what God has done in your life. Don’t assume your experiences are too ordinary or too insignificant to matter. You don’t have to have a dramatic story to tell of God’s goodness. Sometimes the most powerful testimony is simply a life that has been changed by His grace, one day at a time.

Look for opportunities this week to share your story. Tell someone what God has done for you. You may never know how He will use your words, but you can trust Him with the outcome.

Because when you tell your story, you’re also telling His story.

And He can use your story to draw someone else to Him.

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