Showing posts with label believing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label believing. Show all posts

Permission to Believe

 


I found myself in a very familiar story this morning as I was preparing for live devotions on Facebook. It's in Matthew 14:22-33. We know this story as the time Jesus came walking on the water. It's also familiar because Peter jumped out of the boat and walked on the water to get to Jesus. Have you ever been in a place where it felt like it would take a miracle for you to get to God? 

There were several things that stood out in this story. I hope you take a minute to read it again today. I like that Jesus took time for solitude and prayer. What an example for us. If He needed it - we certainly do! 

I like that Jesus stepped out into the storm to get to his weary, frightened disciples who were still trying to row the boat. (That's us - huh?) They were frightened at first. But then they recognized Him. He told them to not be afraid. They knew His voice because He simply said, I am here. (NLT)

Then Peter who is known to be a bit impulsive calls out. He said, If it's really You - tell me to come to You by walking on the water. (NLT) Now I've read this story numerous times as many of us have. But this morning I stopped to think about Peter's inquiry. Why didn't he just jump out of the boat and take off? His question seems to indicate to me that he really wanted to. What held him back?

If it's really You - Peter said. Did he doubt? If he doubted why in the world would he have trusted this voice in the night? What if it wasn't Jesus? A deceiver or imposter could bid him to jump out of the boat to his doom. Right? 

Maybe Peter knew Jesus' voice but was just enough afraid to stay in the boat. Maybe Peter just needed permission to believe. And Jesus said, Alright, come. (NLT) 

As caregivers, our days and nights can get rocky. We can be tossed around on life's sea like a boat in a storm. But we keep rowing just like the disciples did. It doesn't say they were waiting for or expecting Jesus to come to them. But He came. He walked right into the middle of their dark night; right into the middle of their storm and gave them permission to believe Him. I like that.

Today, I will take a good look at my own faith. I'll ask myself some hard questions too. Do I believe? Would I jump out of the boat and run to Him? Will I accept Him in the middle of the dark night of the soul? Will I trust Him to calm the storm? Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes. Will you join me today?

God is At Work

Just because we do not get exactly what we ask for does not mean that God is not working. I thought about Joseph this morning and the years he spent locked up in prison. I am sure he thought about his dreams quite a lot. In Psalms it says that the Word of the Lord tested him. No matter how you look at it this can sure chip away at our theology.

 I do not think that God is sitting up there waiting for ways to make us miserable just to see if we will continue to trust. However, life does bring with it a series of testings and opportunities to continue to believe. Life just happens, and so do bad things. It's not that God prevents everything bad from happening so that we have a nice cushy stay on earth...it's just that He works in the midst of them.

1 Thessalonians 2:13b says that His word performs its work in you who believe. The only stipulation here, if there is one, is that we believe. God's word does not stop carrying us because we hit tough times or things in life did not work out like we thought they were supposed to. His word continues to work as we believe. That's not an empty promise of healing, prosperity or cheap peace...the security here is that His Word is not bound by our circumstances. He is working in us in the midst of the circumstances. We must simply believe that He is...and come to Him. Even in our broken state, in our worrisome state, in our painful state...just come. He will not cast us away - He is still at work in us.

Believe that He Is...

Do you ever ask tons of questions? There's not really an expectancy of an answer on some of them,is there? I can usually get past all the questions but then sometimes they pop up so quick I can't even think about a real answer. There are tons of whys...at least for me. My mind gets foggy after awhile and I know He is not really going to rain down answers or miracles. Knowing that He can totally heal - but He doesn't - has been one of the most frustrating parts of my journey as a caregiver.

 Once the questions start it is easy to get sucked under by all the surrounding emotions. (of course that doesn't take much most days anyway! lol) And as I am looking for some of the answers in the Word - or just an answer I always come back to the same thing. I cannot not believe in Him. 

There's something in the core of my being that screams out There is a God! And even though there are no substantial answers to my many questions I can grab hold of Hebrews 11:6 - Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Those who come to Him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And that's such a good place to start. Just believing that He is.

when all of our theology is shattered - believe that He is. 
When we don't get any of our answers - believe that He is.
When the storm seems to last forever - believe that He is.

Today this will be my primary focus - believing that He is there for me today. We must trust that He is there and He is very aware of what is going on in our hearts and lives...today - just believe He is...

Faith That Meets His Approval

Sometimes scriptures don't seem too fair. Like the one in Daniel 3. The three Hebrew children are facing a fiery, hot furnace when they make their statement of faith, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us...but even if He doesn't...we will bot worship you gods...and we know that they indeed did get thrown into the furnace. But we also know that they walked out unscathed! And even though God did not keep them from being thrown in, in the end He did deliver them. Of course, when they made their faith statement they knew God's ability, but were unsure of His actions. They did not presume that God would step in.

But what if He hadn't? As caregivers it's easy to see that He hasn't stepped in so far to rescue us out of the situation - because we are still in it. That does not mean that at any point He won't either! He may come riding in on a white horse and redeem the situation. And although that complete deliverance is possible, it hasn't happened to date. So today is here for us to deal with...at least until!

Some have pointed at us and said we don't have faith since the situation hasn't turned. I beg to differ based on what I found this morning in Hebrews 11 - our "Hall of Faith" heroes.  In verses32 through 36 there is a list of all these great deliverances that God brought to His people of faith. But just below that in the next couple of verses are some other listings - things God didn't just make go away. Things like prison, put to death by the sword, sawn into! Yikes! And yet in verse 39 it says that these all - everyone listed who faced situations - all of them - whether or not they walked away from the trouble - ALL gained approval through their faith.

Faith is not getting out of the trial - as much as having the strength to believe in the midst of it! I still believe! Give yourself a break today - you are still believing through it all. And according to Hebrews 11 - that receives great approval from God!

Faith is the Substance

Hebrews 11:1 has long been misunderstood, or at least our overall concept of faith has been at best misinterpreted. The faith-ers would like for us to believe that "faith" is this force field that surrounds us and keeps bad things from happening. But there are too many examples throughout scriptures of those who went through the fires of life with their faith in tact. Actually Peter said that the trial of our faith is more precious than purified gold.

While taking a serious look at the heroes of faith, even just the ones listed in Hebrews 11, we can see that it was their faith in God that carried them through. Without the struggles - we could have skipped this chapter altogether!

We've seen church faith to be two things. One that faith is the force field to keep bad things away; and two faith is the substance has been interpreted to bring substance. However, Hebrews 11:1 states that faith is the substance. It's the substance that keeps us running back to His heart no matter what (good or bad) is going on in our lives. Faith is more like a force inside of us that carries us back to Him every moment of every day. It's that part of us that refuses to give up in the face of adversity! We cannot accept the church's weakened version that basically says we use faith to bring us stuff. That will not sustain us through tough times..stuff is not the measure of whether or not we are operating in faith.

Faith says there is a God...and I will serve Him in the good times and the bad. Job said he would accept good and adversity from God. That's faith - circumstances do not dethrone God - faith means He has constant reign in our hearts...no matter what. Faith is substance.

Cultivating Faithfulness

I think it is pretty well understood that there are good days and bad days. Some days caregiving can be a joy and very rewarding. Then there are days that are dreaded almost before we get out of the bed...One thing we talk about here a lot is that God is faithful...period. No matter what the circumstances and no matter how low we can go it is one thing that we can hold on to; even if we can't quite explain it from here...

This morning I was reading in Psalm 77 as I return there frequently when my mental questions get too many to handle. This time I saw the faithfulness of the writer. We talk about God's faithfulness to us a lot...but what about ours? It's not like we deserve some reward here on earth and we don't even want any recognition at all - but do a self inventory real quick.

Are you still believing Him in spite of circumstances?
No matter what happens - are you still looking to Him for comfort and strength?
Do you continue in His word even when you don't see the answers you desire?
No matter how weak you feel..are you still standing...
and standing...?

congrats - you are faithful!

Psalm 37:3 uses the phrase cultivate faithfulness. I believe that as we continue to pursue Him even in adversity we are doing just that! While we meditate on His faithfulness, realize that you are being faithful in just considering how faithful He is to you! Continue to cultivate that faithfulness to Him..no matter what you see or feel...He is faithful and He put that same faithfulness in you!

Faith and Stuff Like That

A day can bring so many various moods and emotional swings. For some it means rejoicing one moment in small progresses and then grieving over the things lost. As Christians how are we to deal with these emotional swings? Many try to tell the caregiver that they lack faith or trust...but I believe the fact that we keep going in the face of adversity speaks of a much higher faith than many possess. We simply trust Him.

Who holds on as long as a caregiver? If there is one tiny ray of light, one single glimmer of hope we will go until there is no more strength...and then some. Each day our loved one is breathing - there is hope. And we will hold on to that as we lift it up to God and pray for strength to make the day while we pray He answers our heart's deepest cry and helps our loved one. That's faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We keep trusting in Him whether we ever literally see any substance or not! That's faith in its simplest and purest form. Some days, it is faith to just hold on. Other days are bright and it seems that faith comes up effortlessly.

Today just remember that you have faith or you wouldn't even be a caregiver. You would have given up a long time ago if you lacked faith and trust. Encourage yourself by reminding yourself that you do have great faith. We continue keeping our eyes on the Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith  so that we do not lose heart.(Hebrews 12:2) Trust me on this one - you have more faith than you realize...just smile!

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