Witness Stand

This year at youth group we started doing the Witness Stand. It is an opportunity for a student to share about something that God is doing or has done in their life. Ellie Beth shared this in November and we wanted to share it with you.

A couple years ago, I felt distant from God, and realized that my relationship with Him was missing something. As I looked at my life and my relationship with God and then at other people’s lives and their relationship with God, I realized that they had something that I didn’t; a strong love and a steady passion for Him. I knew about God, I went to church, I prayed a little, went to AWANAS, and had even accepted him into my life and been baptized, but I wasn’t excited about Him, I didn’t love Him passionately! “How can I get that passion and excitement, and that love for God?” I asked myself. I had read a couple books that talked about time with God, people I knew spent time with Him, and I felt like I should be too. So I decided to spend time alone with God every day.

At first, it was really hard, especially on the busy days, and I often felt that the Bible was boring. So I started asking Him to give me a love for the Bible, his word. And I still pray that prayer. Ever since then, God has been changing my heart and helping me to love his word. Now I enjoy my time with God, and look forward to it.

He has been showing and teaching me so much, but as I think back over the past couple years, a lesson from 1 verse sticks out more than the rest: Zephaniah 3:17. It says, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." God used this verse to show me his great love. I had heard John 3:16 more times than I can count, and had recited it every Wednesday night at AWANA club, I had been told that God loved me and had sang Jesus Loves Me, but I never realized and understood in my heart that God loved me until I heard Zephaniah 3:17. When I first read it, I stopped and reread it, not quite believing that it was true. He showed it to me at a time when I was really sad and discouraged. I remember thinking, “The God of the universe who is mighty to save is with me! He actually takes great delight in me! He quiets me with his love and rejoices over me with singing!!!” That verse just gives me so much joy, I am amazed when I think about how much God loves me, and how great it is to be loved by Him! When I realize just how much God loves me and how much He cares about me, it gives me a passion and excitement for Him.

He has shown me a lot of other things too. He has shown me that He is faithful, and that He never gives up on me. He has shown me that I am His child, and that He forgives me. God has also been changing my heart and life, making me more like Him.

Since I’ve started spending time alone with God, I am more passionate and excited about Him, and I love Him more. Now, God is more than just words on a page, or something that people talk about. I now know in my mind and believe in my heart that God is real, and that He is worth living for. Daily spending time alone with God is one of the best decisions I have ever made.