I am in the process of learning a lesson that is crucial to the Christian’s life. I am learning to have faith. Having faith is one of the most difficult things a believer can do, even though it seems like an easy task. After all, it’s simply believing what God says and trusting His plans instead of our own.
Even when your agenda seems to make more sense. Even when your plans seem to have more order. Even when your thoughts seem better and “righter” than His.
But that’s where doubt comes in. It’s wondering if God’s plan is the best thing for us. It’s asking if He knows what He’s doing (which seems silly when I actually write it down, but it happens frequently).
We know the truth in our heads—our stuffy little Christianese-filled minds. But do we know it in our hearts?
Mary did.
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” (Luke 1:45 NASB)
Here, Elizabeth is speaking to her cousin, Mary. Of all the people who should have trouble believing something, it was Mary. It was physically impossible for her to have a baby, let alone the King of Kings. How could such a thing be?
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27 NASB)
Only with God. Only with His unexplainably great power and knowledge.
Like me, you’ve probably heard over and over that we cannot always understand how God works and that sometimes we won’t be able to explain difficult situations. Trying to make us feel better, people say, “But God knows what He’s doing. You just have to trust Him.”
That is extremely hard to hear when you’re in the bottom of a dark and lonely hole.
Maybe you’re battling an illness, watching a loved one suffer, or having relationship conflicts. I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but I can tell you this: the hole you seem to be stuck in will only feel darker if you sit there and sulk alone. When you decide to believe the God with unexplainably great power and knowledge, at least there’s a chance to get out of the hole and see light again.
And, by the way, belief is a choice. You have to make a decision to trust God. It’s definitely not going to come naturally. At least not now. Maybe, when you were little, it was easy to trust God—before you entered the world of college and bills and marriage and retirement.
But now, life is messy and difficult and complicated.
And sometimes, life feels like a dark, bottomless pit.
Our only chance—our ONLY HOPE—of seeing even a glimmer of light is to take hold of the only One who is the Light.
No other person or thing is the light. That prestigious college, that precious job, that adoring spouse, or that beautiful house won’t be with you forever. It won’t be a life preserver in the storm or a safety net for a fall.
I know because I’ve used other things as my light.
I’ve tried to make things make me happy, but they didn’t. I’ve put up idol after idol, believing I would be satisfied once I reached my goals and fulfilled my plans. But my idols left me feeling pretty empty. They didn’t shed light on the truth or protect me from sin. In fact, they did the opposite.
I agree that things and people can help you feel good about yourself. They can increase your self-esteem or make you feel loved for a time.
But only for a time.
If we could simply take God at His word, the Christian walk would be a whole lot easier. So that’s really the challenge in our lives—deciding what to do with what we know. Will we use the Truth as a weapon against Satan’s lies, as we are commanded (Ephesians 6:17)? Or will we just let the Truth forever rest in our minds and instead gobble up the empty “truths” of this evil world?
Only you can decide.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 