I love how Psalm 107 begins: let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. I grew up in church, and for the longest time I would hear testimonies of people’s whose lives where caught up in drugs, prostitution, etc. and how Jesus had transformed them. It was incredible! The entire congregation would clap and praise when these lives changed, and rightly so. At the same time, it made me incredibly insecure. To my ignorant eyes, I had no impactful testimony that would be clear evidence of Jesus in my life. Was I even a Christian if I had no before and after? I was too young, but I later came to see the impact that Jesus had in my life and family. What some would call a testimony.

In Psalm 107, we see constant affliction, pain, wrong decisions, famine, darkness, bitterness, rebellion, suffering, and many other troubles followed by God stepping in and exchanging the negative to a positive. Four times, Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28 says, “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.” God is stepping into their lives and transforming them. Regardless of their innocence, or if they had rebelled against the Lord. These are followed by Psalm 107:32 “Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.”

I do not know if you have a before and after testimony of how Jesus changed your life. I remember when I thought I did not. My pastor told me, “That is your testimony! That you’ve been with Jesus. That is the testimony we all hope for.” Or maybe you have a before that you do not even want to remember because of how bad you think you were. Regardless of where you stand, you have been touched by God’s unfailing love and grace. We have a duty to exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders. In other words, wherever we go we are to proclaim the goodness of His love and the impact that He has in our lives.