Chapters of Your Testimony

Lesson Two of REMEMBER. RECORD. RECITE.

In Lesson One, we learned the importance of remembering our story and preparing to be effective witnesses. In Lesson Three, we will explore valuable benefits to include in our story, and Lesson Four will teach essential precepts to complete your testimony.

When organizing your testimony, think of it like a book, with each part serving as a chapter of your life. Using this structure—while not absolutely necessary—can help you effectively remember and share your story in a concise and impactful way, edifying the listener.

Each time you share your testimony, understand that others may not relate to your exact circumstances but can connect with your emotions. By describing your feelings with “I felt like” statements, you draw others into the core of your experience, even if they haven’t gone through what you have. For example, while people may not relate to the death of a young child, they can understand the emotions of abandonment, despair, loss, grief, anger, and the like.

Adversities

Terms like condition, pressure, challenges, heartaches, and weaknesses can categorize your trials and tribulations. In Lesson Three, we will help you examine your trial to uncover the spiritual benefits and clarify whether it was an assault or a failure.

Failures vs. Assaults

Failures are trials that arise from our own choices, disobedience, or lack of wisdom. At the root of every human failure is our fallen nature—original sin—and our tendency to resist God’s Word. Without repentance and faith in Christ, these failures block us from God. The most foundational failure, however, is our separation from God before salvation. This is why our Salvation story, our first testimony, is so powerful: it demonstrates how, by faith and repentance, God rescued us from the consequences of our failures and introduced us to His grace and mercy. Beyond salvation, failures can include the results of poor decisions, moral missteps, or lack of understanding. King Saul’s disobedience (1 Sam 15:22-23), David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:2-4), and Peter’s denial of Christ (Matt 26:69-75) all show how human choices can lead to trials that require repentance, humility, and reliance on God.

Assaults, by contrast, are tribulations imposed from outside our control—circumstances brought about by the enemy, injustice, or natural adversity. Job’s devastating losses (Job 1:13-19), Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers (Gen 37:28), Paul’s persecution (2 Cor 11:24-25), and the blind man in John 9:1-3 are all examples. These tribulations can be blessings in disguise when we maintain a biblical response. Scripture reminds us that God’s providence is not limited by our circumstances. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, God “sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” showing that adversity comes to all people, both believers and non-believers alike. 

Both failures (Trials) and assaults (Tribulations) are opportunities to grow closer to the Lord. Failures teach repentance, humility, and the necessity of God’s guidance, while assaults refine our faith, reveal God’s power, and deepen our reliance on Him. Together, they provide the life experiences for Gospel-centric testimonies that glorifies Christ and encourage others to put their trust in Him.

Time Considerations

When sharing your testimony, remember that most people have a short attention span of about 7-12 minutes. While some stories may need more time, being clear and concise will help keep people engaged. 

Here are our suggested chapters to help you organize your testimony:

The Intro: The Attention Grabber

Develop your introduction after completing Lesson Four. The introduction should provide a summary of your story without revealing too much, sparking curiosity in the listener to hear more about the details in Chapters 1-4. For a deep dive into Attention Grabbers, visit masterclass.com. For our ministry, please end your introduction with: “I’m [your first name], and this is my story.”

Examples of ‘Attention-Grabbing’ Intros:

Chapter One: The Assault or Failure

Start by describing what your life was like before your trial or tribulation. Introduce the setting, characters (you and others), and the adversity or pressure you faced.

Settings
By starting with a real place and time, your testimony will feel lived-in, not abstract. If relevant, describe sensory details—the hum of dialysis machines, the smell of sawdust in the workshop—to ground the scene.

Characters
Along with yourself, it may be necessary to describe the real people God used in your story. When they are relevant to God’s plan, this will clarify why they matter. You are the protagonist, yet the Holy Spirit is the unseen Guide. Remember to communicate each supporting character’s role—mentor, skeptic, friend. Redemption and Restoration are better understood knowing where your journey started.

Adversity

In storytelling, naming the adversity, or tension keeps the focus on what you, the protagonist must overcome throughout your story, but more importantly, what God is going to change. It immediately signals stakes, invites the audience to empathize, and lays the groundwork for transformation.

• Condition — an adverse condition sets the scene for struggle.

• Pressure — adversity presses in, forcing decisions and growth.

• Circumstances — adversity is born from unfavorable circumstances that surrounded you.

• Heartaches — adversity includes the inner wounds that make the outer battle personal.

Ask yourself: What form of adversity most shaped your testimony, and how did it move God’s redemption or restoration forward?

Share how the situation unfolded and its impact on you and others. A strong beginning draws people in as they identify with the Characters, Setting, and Adversity.

Chapter Two: Human Efforts

The flesh is at war with the spirit (Galatians 5:17). Now, sometimes God may use human intervention to do His will. However, our first instinct is usually to rely heavily (and sometimes solely) on human solutions. 

When writing your testimony, use this part of the story to reflect honestly on how you responded to your own failure(s) or the assault. Considered how you may have leaned on human solutions—and how that affected what happened in the next chapter. Use the questions below to guide your answers.

1. How did I try to take control?

• What actions did I take right away to fix or escape the situation?

• Did I avoid asking for help, pretend everything was fine, or push others away?

• Was I relying more on human logic, strength, or willpower than on God?

2. What was I trying to protect or prove?

• Was I trying to protect my reputation, emotions, or sense of control?

• Did I try to prove I was strong enough or didn’t need anyone—including God?

• What was I most afraid to let go of?

3. Did I feel distant from God?

• Did it feel like God was silent or far away?

• Was I praying, or avoiding Him? Did I even know how to pray?

• Did I expect God to act on my terms or in my timing?

4. What did I miss while striving?

• Looking back, was there something God was trying to show me that I ignored?

• Did my efforts delay peace, healing, or direction?

• Was there a point when I realized, “This isn’t working”?

Chapter Three: The Consequences

What happened when human effort wasn’t enough?

What were the consequences of relying on human solutions, and how did it delay God’s benefit or hindered your faith? (See Proverbs 14:12 – ESV) This is not the resolution—it’s the unraveling. It’s where the cost of the flesh becomes clear. Sometimes the consequences are immediate; other times, they slowly unfold. Use these questions to reflect deeply, and to help your audience feel the full weight of the moment before God’s intervention is revealed.

1. What changed around me?

• Did relationships suffer or break apart?
• Did I lose trust, influence, a job, or a sense of stability?
• Were there legal, financial, or physical consequences?
• Did people respond differently to me because of my choices or reactions?

2. What changed within me?

• Did I become bitter, anxious, numb, or angry?
• Did I feel guilt, shame, or a sense of failure?
• Was there a moment when I stopped trying or gave up on something important?
• Did I experience a loss of identity or purpose?

3. How did I view God during this time?

• Did I feel abandoned or betrayed by Him?
• Did I question His goodness or His presence?
• Was I still talking to Him—or had I stopped altogether?
• Did I expect Him to rescue me, or punish me?

4. What was I clinging to that made things worse?

• Did I hold on to pride, denial, control, or unforgiveness?
• Was I still trying to manage the outcome instead of surrendering it?
• Was there something I refused to admit or let go of?

5. What were the long-term effects of relying on myself?

• Did the consequences of my efforts ripple into other areas of my life?
• Were others affected by my choices?
• Did I waste time, damage trust, or deepen wounds that could have begun to heal?

This chapter is not about self-condemnation—it’s about clarity. Before redemption or restoration can begin, the cost of going ‘our own way’ must be seen and felt. Don’t rush past it.

End with this question:
What made me realize something had to change?

That realization becomes the door into Chapter Four.

Chapter Four: Discovering and Applying God’s Truth

What did God want me to learn?

This chapter is about more than a moment of mental or emotional relief—it’s about a shift in our natural and spiritual understanding—a turning point in our story. After trying and failing in your own strength, after feeling the full weight of the consequences, we finally begin to listen to God speak. This is where His truth entered the story, not just to rescue you, but to teach you. Before the results came—before things got better—something had to change inside you.

A Different Kind of Weapon

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world…” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV)

At this point in your story, the battle may not have ended—but human strategy did.

• What did God reveal about your situation that you hadn’t seen before?
• What lies had you believed that His truth began to correct?
• How did the Holy Spirit lead you to that truth—through scripture, prayer, fasting, worship or the example of another believer?

You weren’t just being delivered from a tribulation—you were being discipled through it. God wasn’t just disciplining you through a trial; He was building you in His character and virtue.

Receiving the Lesson

As a good parent may, God often allows pain to become a classroom. We cover this more in Lesson Three: The Benefits of Your Testimony, which will help you understand what God’s was teaching you.

• What spiritual truth did you need to receive before anything changed outwardly?
• Did He show you something about His character—His love, justice, patience, or faithfulness?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• Was the lesson hard to accept?

Don’t rush past this part. This is the foundation of your testimony. The trial had a purpose. The assault wasn’t random. The failure wasn’t final. What mattered was what you learned in it—truth you couldn’t have learned any other way. And that’s expressed in scripture.

A New Perspective

Truth applied is what prepares you for lasting change.

• How did this new understanding shape your thoughts, reactions, or prayers?
• Did it lead to repentance, forgiveness, humility, or faith?
• Were you able to see the situation through God’s eyes?

At this point, the shift usually doesn’t erase the pain, but it does give purpose to it. God’s truth brought clarity where there was confusion—and that clarity is the beginning of redemption or restoration.

Preparing for What’s Next

This chapter ends with understanding—not with completion. That comes next. But before you move forward, reflect on this:

• What was God teaching me through this season that I couldn’t have learned any other way? (See Lesson Three)
• Why was it important for me to grasp this truth before experiencing the results?

Chapter Five: The Results (Spiritual and Natural)

Whether your testimony began with an assault that wounded you or a failure that exposed you, this is where you reveal what God brought out of it. Not every situation may have ‘the fix’ we suppose, but something greater happened—you were changed. God’s truth, once received and applied, always produces fruit. This chapter reveals how He worked both spiritually and naturally to bring redemption, growth, and restoration.

Redemption and Restoration

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…” – Romans 8:28 (NIV)

• What did God redeem or restore—peace, purpose, health, relationships, or hope?

• How did His presence carry you through what once seemed unbearable?

Spiritual Growth

• What biblical truths became real to you?

• How did your view of God deepen?

• What changed in your heart, thinking, or walk with Christ?

Life Transformation

• Were there emotional, physical, or relational changes?

• How did obedience bring peace, joy, or renewed purpose?

• What fruit came from your surrender?

Impact on Others

• Who noticed the change in you?

• Did your story open doors for ministry to others—salavation, reconciliation, healing, etc?

Thanksgiving and Worship

End by giving God the glory—not just for what He did, but for who He was throughout the journey.

For our ministry, we’d appreciate you ending your testimony with: “This is my story, His glory.”

Chapters are adapted from: Gothard, Bill. Rebuilder’s Guide (Institute in Basic Life’s Principles). Twelfth Printing 1998.

Final Thoughts

These lessons are meant as a guideline, not a rigid set of rules. We use the word ‘Recite’ as alliteration. This exercise is about sharing your story as naturally as having a conversation. We usually write differently than we speak. So, it’s important that you speak (share your story) in a way that feels natural to you, but always pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all you say.

Project Two:

Choose one testimony from Lesson One. Using an index card or sheet of paper for each chapter, begin to outline and develop your testimony, using the chapters and questions from above. Remember to develop your Intro after Lesson Four.

Lesson Three: Benefits of Your Testimony

Explore the spiritual growth opportunities in trials and tribulations. Learn how both external assaults and personal failures can bring us closer to God and strengthen our faith through prayerful examination and reflection.