Our most recent guest on the Ask About My Faith podcast, Deana Berg, brings us stories from childhood, adolescence, motherhood, and her current endeavor as an entrepreneur in the investment space. Her fearless lens on life is contagious and her stories will empower you to become brave when sharing your faith!
A Saving Moment Turned Lasting Metaphor
Ever since Deana can remember, she can recall knowing God. One of her earliest memories was giving her heart to the Lord when she was 5 years old. Though there were seasons where she strayed from the path of God, she was always brought back to His generous love and His perfect ways.
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart. - Psalm 119:9-11
When Deana was in high school, she got mixed in with the wrong crowd and eventually got caught at a house party. When her parents found out, they sent her on a backpacking trip to the summit of Mount Olympus with at-risk youth.
While on this trip, Deana was crossing a perilous snow field. In a dramatic turn of events, her foot slipped, and while she tried her best to self arrest, the reel of her life flashed before her eyes as she screamed for help. As she dangled in the air, she bargained in prayer saying, “God, I will become a guide and save other people in the mountains if you save my life.”
God graciously heard her prayer and answered swiftly! The guide on the trip grabbed her backpack, pulled her to safety, and carefully led her across the snow pack. Deana was saved in a very literal way, but the metaphor of God’s relentless pursuit and protection has never escaped her.
Related Post: You Are Never Too Far Gone: God’s Redemption!
An Evangelistic Spirit At Every Age
Early on in her schooling years, Deana had a strong crush on a boy named Dave. He was a troubled kid with a pain-filled story. During a school trip, Dave opened up to Deana and shared about the difficulties in his home. Deana could sense that Dave was hungry for God and desperate for breakthrough. By the end of their conversation she invited Dave to give his life to the Lord. When he said “Yes” to Jesus, he was overcome with tears and gratitude.
Related Post: How to Share Your Faith as a Teen
Currently, Deana shares her faith regularly, but she particularly loves it when she gets to honor the Lord at work. She recently launched a business that provides plenty of opportunities to connect with people, hear their stories, and share her story in return. She is often in front of high net-worth individuals and yet feels no fear as she invites them to hear the testimony of her life.
Deana will often welcome her clients into the stories of her life and she is constantly amazed at how boardrooms soften when she speaks. Once in a meeting, she felt the Lord invite her to tell the room the vision for her life. She gathered her courage and told them, “Big picture, end game: I want to impact human flourishing for a thousand generations in nations that can’t help themselves.” After she spoke these words, an honored employee of the National Science Foundation ended up in tears because of her vulnerability.
“Vulnerability cracks open and disarms each time you tell a human story.”
Related Post: 3 Reasons Why Sharing Your Faith Story Matters
God Moments in Peculiar Places
Once while journaling in a coffee-shop downtown, she began to speak to a man nearby. The man she met was named Jean-Claude and he shared a very tragic story with her. Jean-Claude had been brutally injured when he was robbed and assaulted a few years prior. He was shot in the leg and had spent a year in the hospital due to the injury. He explained to Deana that he didn’t know how to get out of his anger towards the people group that had hurt him.
As she continued to speak to him, Deana found out that he had a gun in his backpack and was headed to shoot whoever he could find from the same people group that had injured him. Deana offered to give him $20 in exchange for his backpack and trade her backpack for his. To her surprise, the two of them ended up outside, where Jean-Claude grabbed a brick, put the brick into his bag, and threw his backpack into the bottom of the sea. After this moment, Jean-Claude gave his life to the Lord and sang, “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free!”
Deana’s fearless and uncompromising love paved the way for Jean-Claude to move towards forgiveness and ultimately to Jesus. Never underestimate the power of simple conversation!
Words of Wisdom from Deana
For we live by faith and not by sight. - 2 Corinthians 5:7
Start in Prayer
Deana encourages everyone to ask the Lord to “open the door” to share the Gospel with someone this week. She reminds us to start in the place of prayer and not the place of striving. As you grow in prayer, you will receive God’s adoptive heart of freedom for other people and move towards sharing your faith with boldness.
Be Unafraid to Fail
Following God’s lead doesn’t need to be a scary thing. Just like getting to know a friend, we can get to know God better through asking Him questions, hearing what He says through the Word, and then taking the risk to speak what we hear. Growth comes from risk.
Ask One Simple Question Every Day
A simple question to ask each day is: “Where are you leading me, Lord?”
As we learn to say, “yes” without the entitlement to understand, we tap into God’s power to change the world as He leads us forward. Listen to our full podcast with Deana and hear all the stories that didn’t make the blog!
Podcast Link: Deana Berg
