The Art of Believing

My last post got me to thinking about what it means to believe God, not to just believe in God.  For, if I have accepted Him into my life, I believe He exists.  I am referring to believing Him at His word.  That the words inscribed on the pages of the Bible apply to the God I am surrendered to.  That all His promises applied to me and my life.  I also had to come in agreement with the fact that my actions had consequences that would affect my relationship with Him. 

I love that I can be honest about my walk.  It took some time to believe John 3:16 which describes  the love of Christ freely given to His children.  It was easier to believe that God was real then to believe He loved me enough to die for me.  As I began to dig to the root of this reasoning, I realized that I did not feel worthy of this type of love.  I felt I had behaved in ways that did not honor God or myself, so His love couldn’t apply to me.  Yes, I let the enemy talk me out of the love that God so freely gives to His children.  The scripture states that this type of love was for those who believe in the Son of God and followed His example.  To believe in God in that way, required me to confess I was sinful and believe that turning towards the truth that Jesus brought to the world would allow me to turn away from sin.

Have you ever been there?  At a point where you had to look at you and be honest about what you have done.  Knowing that a change is required to see yourself as God sees you.  If not, you will one day soon.  I don’t say that to scare you, just to prepare your heart for the inevitable. 

This God that I have encountered over the last few years has caused me to see Him beyond my current understanding.  Decomposing and reprogramming my heart and mind to accept the God of the Bible as my personal Lord. Who is this God you might ask?  He is the God of Genesis 1, the creator of all.  Let that sink in a bit, I did.  To see God as the creator of all is to place Him above everything that I hold dear.  God is superior, which requires a reverence not given to anyone or anything else.  I realized that although I believe in God, I did not hold Him in high regard.  His grace made me forget that my sin cause friction between us.  That reality brought me to a deep desire to repent and turn away from anything that threaten by relationship with God.  Daily I work to move closer to Him and further from  sin, I actively work towards living out Luke 9:23. 

So what does all of this mean?!  How is this helping me acquire a deeper relationship with God.  The short answer is as I focus on who God is, how He shows up in my life, and reveals Himself to me I grow in believing Him. I have grown in believing His word is true in my life not because I am perfect but because He is.  I have grown in trusting Him to always do what is best, as I consider that His plan is better.  Mostly I have grown in confidence that the God who created the heavens, earth, and all of creation desires to be in relationship with me.  The art of believing is a personal journey that depends on the amount of effort placed into maturing the relationship.

As you reflect on your level of belief in God, I dare you to consider where you are and the steps you need to incorporate into your life to go deeper.  As always it has been my pleasure sharing my walk with you.  Until next time, know that I am praying for you.