Remembering your own encounter with Jesus and giving thanks
We talk a lot about evangelizing, and we sometimes forget to remember what happened to us. How did Jesus reach you? When did you first feel that all this was not just a theory? This quest invites you to go back to your own story, then to say thank you.
What it looks like in your day
Take ten quiet minutes, with a piece of paper or in thought. Here is a guiding thread:
- Find the moment. It may be a specific date (a camp, a service, a death, a prayer) or a path that took shape slowly, through a person, a book, a trial. If you have been a believer since childhood, go back to the moment your faith became your own.
- Revisit the scene. Where were you? Who was there? What were you feeling? What touched you?
- Think of those God used. A parent, a friend, a pastor, a stranger. Say thank you for them too.
- Measure what changed. What in your life is different since? A peace, a forgiveness received, a direction.
- Say thank you to Jesus, in your own words: “Thank you for seeking me. Thank you for not letting go of me.”
If your encounter seems “small” to you, don't compare it with other people's. The starting point is not a competition. If you are in doubt, also remember the moments when you felt his presence. If you are short on time, three minutes of remembering and one sentence of thanks are enough.
What the Bible says
The psalmist remembers his deliverance with great simplicity:
“To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,” “set my feet upon a rock”: he remembers a before and an after. And his reaction is a new song, a gratitude that pours out. Paul, for his part, never forgets where he comes from:
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
Notice the structure: a thank-you, a reminder of what he was (blasphemer, persecutor), then the grace that overflowed. For Paul, remembering his past does not crush him: it magnifies the grace he received. Moses, too, reminds the people of the whole road God made them travel in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2).
The book of Revelation speaks to the church in Ephesus of its “first love” (Revelation 2:4): we can drift away from it, and remembering is a way back.
Pitfalls to avoid
Idealizing the past. Some regret the enthusiasm of the beginning and judge themselves cold today. Remember without condemning yourself: faith matures, it is not limited to its initial intensity.
Comparing yourself. “I don't have a spectacular testimony.” Most people don't. Each encounter is unique, and yours doesn't have to be dramatic to be true.
Retaining only what you did. An encounter is not first what you decided: it is what Jesus did by coming toward you. Keep that outlook.
Neglecting the moments of doubt. They are part of the story. Don't hide them: they show how God held you.
Stopping at the memory. Gratitude can push you to act: to tell your story, to thank the person who helped you, to serve. Let it set you in motion.
Today, take a moment. Find the scene again, thank Jesus, and note a sentence so you don't forget it.