Today is Day 8 of 31 Days to Telling Your Story, and today we’re writing on the prompt, COMFORT.
I’m busy sharing five reasons I believe you should share your story. Read Reason #1 here, Reason #2 here, and Reason #3 here.
For more posts in this series, visit the Table of Contents page.
A fourth reason I believe it’s important that we share our stories is because it’s an opportunity for us to bring comfort to others.
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Did you catch that? The God of all comfort comforts us so that we can comfort others with the comfort we received.
When I was writing my memoir, I could only hope and pray that the Lord would somehow use it to be a comfort for others. In His grace, He has given me a number of glimpses in the way He used my story to minister to others.
One girl I’ve never met read my book and sent me an email, sharing part of her very similar story. In her message, she wrote, “Thank you so much for your honesty in sharing your story, of not shying away from the reality of pain while also boldly and unapologetically declaring the goodness of the Lord and the hope that He gives. You have inspired me to do the same.”
Just this past weekend, I received a message from a friend in South Africa. She had just finished reading the book and said it was a great comfort to her after she lost her home in a fire and is now questioning the true meaning and definition of home.
The next day, friend’s mom was visiting our church and came up to thank me for writing A Place to Land. She said she had experienced so many similar emotions when her daughter had cancer and passed away, but she didn’t know how to express her feelings in words. She told me that the book helped her to do that, and to continue to find hope in the anchor of her soul.
I share these testimonies not in any way to bring glory to myself, because there’s no way I could have brought about any of those responses on my own. I share them to illustrate that when I wrote the book, I had no idea how God might use it in other people’s lives. My job was to tell the story and leave the rest up to Him.
For Deeper Reflection: How has hearing someone else’s story brought you comfort? How can you seek to use your story to comfort someone else?
Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon have been used in this post.
Enjoying this series?
Save it on Pinterest by clicking the image below!
Read more posts from this series by visiting this page.
