From Everything To Enough - The Testimony

Testimonies change as we experience life in Christ. We have our initial testimony of how the Lord reached out to us and we were able to respond, recognizing that we need Him in order to live now and eternally. There is the testimony of His extended grace, of His mercies, of His making a way out of no way, but in each season of our lives there is a new testimony that we stand on as we move from glory to glory.

I could tell you that I gave my life to the Lord in April of 1994 after my then boyfriend shared with me that he could kill me, hide my body, and no one would ever find me. How I gave my life to the Lord and was baptized at New Covenant Believers' Church in Columbus, Ohio and gained a firm biblical knowledge and foundation under Bishop Howard Tillman.

I could tell you about my education, my degrees in Sociology from Ohio Wesleyan University, my Master's Degree from The Ohio State University in Educational Administration or my PhD in Education from OSU as well. I could tell you as a child all I ever wanted to do was sing and somewhere along the way I lost the belief in the gift that God had blessed me with. I could tell you how my low self esteem was nurtured by teachers who led me to give up my musical desires in 1990 only to be asked by the Lord on a beach in Jamaica in 1999 to re-accept the calling which cannot be revoked and leave my job at Wright State University to form Broken Box Ministries, a Christian Arts and Education Organization.

I could tell you how the Lord instilled in me boldness and confidence in Him by allowing me to be the Youth Praise and Worship Leader under the ministry of Pastors Tim and Leann Winton, then worship leader at the Lighthouse City of Refuge Christian Church and finally Christian Recording Artist. How I serve at my church as a member of the praise and worship team and as the Church Administrator. I could tell you that growing up I looked for love in all the wrong places, hid myself from the world as often as possible, how I have struggled and been delivered from eating disorders, suicidal tendencies and even now struggle with an intense desire to be hidden from view.

I could tell you how in November of 2001 the man that I wanted to marry shared with me that he did not feel the same way and in the brokenness a song was birthed that launched a ministry… the song is Everything. I could tell you about the multiple mistakes I have made in ministry, rushing too far ahead of the Lord, not listening close enough to the Lord, losing friends and material possessions and finding myself utterly alone in a deep dark valley.

But what I want to tell you is how I have learned that Jesus heals broken hearts and forgives past mistakes, He makes it clear that He deserves to be everything in your life and you must be content with that. In the darkest valley and at the height of my greatest mountains I have learned that Christ is truly there to take us in His arms and hold us, when we miss the mark and when we hit a homerun for His glory. Through all my loss, my blessings, challenges and hopes, for the first time I understand the Lord's unconditional love, His ability to see the entire picture of my life and His desire to do only the best for me.

What I've learned, what I love to sing and share is simply this, the awesome, amazing, Lord of Creation died just for me, and just for you and He is more then everything, He is simply enough!


Naima Johnston's Profile | Create Your Badge