The Power of Story Transformation
by Doug Kingswriter

Wherever there’s a fight, a struggle, or contention in our lives, there is a story. Why? Without conflict, there is no story. When we ultimately prevail over conflict, we experience relief and great joy. The Apostle Paul summed his life up this way— “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Throughout his trials, Paul discovered the secret of experiencing joy despite his circumstances; his testimony of encouragement for us.

There’s an important distinction, however, between stories and testimonies. Stories are the byproduct of conflict—personal testimonies are the byproduct of God’s intervention in adversarial circumstances, in the stories of our lives. Stories of challenge and difficulty are literally testimonies waiting to happen.

Without Jesus in our lives, our stories of conflict are bleak. But when the Lord comes into our circumstances, a metamorphosis takes place—what was once our story becomes our testimony. Revelation 19:10 indicates that when we give our testimony, we open the atmosphere for our miracle to be repeated. Our testimony carries with it the power of change. When we speak out of our experience with God, we are not just giving information, but are sharing God’s power of transformation, a transformation that affects others.

The Israelites’ story was their walking away from Egypt after 400 years of bondage to arrive at the Red Sea, but they were still in fear. The transformation of their story began to unfold when the Angel of the Lord, who had been in front of Israel from their departure, moved behind them as a cloud that brought darkness to the oppressor and light to the

Israelites, enabling their walk across the now-parted Red Sea. On the other side of the Red Sea, when they realized their captor had been eliminated and they were now in complete freedom, they sang their testimony of what God had done.

As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” You might be a believer, but has the “new” begun in your life circumstances?

When it does, you will not be able to contain it.

Just as we receive Christ into our lives and are transformed by His grace, so it is when Jesus steps into our story of despair. He reconstitutes the story components, and then creates an unimaginable outcome to form a testimony of power that can transform others who are living in what used to be your circumstance.

Our greatest challenge? What we want to conceal, God wants to reveal. Do not deny the power of your testimony that God intended to use in transforming the lives of others! Tell the miracle—that Jesus transformed what was once a story of reproach into a testimony of freedom and deliverance.

Be bold. Spread the fire by articulating the power that’s released when Kingdom saints herald the miraculous work God has done in their lives. – Doug Kingsriter

Doug Kingsriter is an author, speaker, and has been a leader in development for organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Be the Match Foundation. Doug, who now lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, is also a former professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings.