For a period of time during my high school and early college years I was in a gospel singing choir of about 20 students.  Wherever we went, we “put on a program” where we sang, read scripture, told the stories about how we came to trust Christ, and reflected on what God was doing in our lives.

Periodically, our director would pigeonhole some of us ahead of time (sometimes without a lot of notice) and ask us to talk about something God was teaching us — to tell a true story about God working in our lives.

Sometimes these were profound…okay, usually not that profound, actually. But, I’ve learned over the years the power of a compelling story. I think Psalm 22 is one of the best.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?  2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.  3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.  4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.  5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.  6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.  7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:  8 “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”  9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.  10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.  11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.  12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.  13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.  14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.  16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.  19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.  20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.  21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.  22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.  23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!  24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.  25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.  26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!  27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,  28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.  29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.  30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it.
— Psalm 22

David was the beneficiary of and a participant in a powerful story. In the middle of crying out to God and not hearing answers, David says, “In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed” (22:4-5). This was powerful to David because he was drawing on that story and in essence saying, “Do that again…right now!”

David winds up telling his own story, and inviting others to join in.  “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” (22:22, 24).

In fact the power of the combined stories of the faithful ultimately reaches nations. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.” (22:27-28). They just must be told what God has done in our lives.

I love how David ends his psalm with the certainty that, for generations to come people will look back at his story and be encouraged (just as he had looked to his forefathers for strength).  “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it” (22:30-31).

Suppose you are at a coffee shop and someone sees you reading your Bible and asks if it’s okay to sit down for a moment. What do you say?

What if that person were to say, “You know, I’m a believer too, but I’m really down right now. Can you tell about something God has done for you lately?  Where is God working in your life? In your relationships? I need a little encouragement right now…”

Would you be prepared to tell a story about God’s goodness?

Could you be specific? What account of an answered prayer could you pass along?

What story would you tell to describe something you believe God has done that you believe only God could do?