What Now?নমুনা

## Share Your Story So you had an encounter with God — not just any encounter, but a major encounter. Maybe you accepted Christ into your life or you just got back from a summer camp or conference. You took notes, shared struggles and testimonies, and you felt God’s presence like never before. But now you're back in the real world, and while you’ve changed, the world around you... hasn’t. Some people are still mean, siblings continue to get on your nerves, and you might find yourself slowly sinking back into old habits. It’s as if all those amazing things happened to someone else. So now what? In the New Testament, we read about Jesus’ encounter with a man filled with demons. While the Bible doesn’t say how or when the unnamed man was possessed, it does say that he had lived with these demons for a long period of time. Then along came Jesus. The man’s demons were removed, he was healed, and for the first time in a long time, he felt free. But despite his encounter with Jesus, the world around him was still cruel, and people still feared him. No wonder he asked to leave with Jesus! “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” When we have a major encounter with God and are changed by Him, it may feel like every little thing around us should change too. And when it doesn’t, it’s easy to feel disappointed and give up. But that encounter with God is only the beginning. Just like the unnamed man, you are being sent out into the world to make a difference. Sometimes, the circumstances don’t change because God wants to bring that change through you. What does getting ready for this change look like? It looks like taking small steps through things such as joining an eGroup, cleaning your room before your parents even ask, reading your Bible, and being kind to people you usually don’t get along with. More than anything, it looks like sharing the story of the impact God had on you and how He’s working in your life. Who in your life needs to hear your story?