Jesus told
them, “This is the only work God wants from
you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
(John 6:29
NLT)
A few weeks ago I spent an evening having what could only
be described as a panic attack. In one brief moment I heard something that not
only confused me, but also threatened to shake the very core of my entire
belief system. Trying hard not to succumb to the lies of the enemy I sent out
an emergency SOS for help.
Several hours later, armed with Bible verses given to me by
a friend, I picked up my Bible and starting reading. As I immersed myself
in His Word, I was especially drawn to one verse she gave me. It was John
14:11, in which Jesus begins with the words "Just believe."
'Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in
me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.'
(John 14:11
NLT)
When I read those words, my soul was pierced as "just
believe" echoed over and over again in my mind. Just believe. Just
believe. That's what He wants me to do. No matter what questions I may have, no
matter how confused I become, He needs me to just believe.
Jesus says "If you can believe, all things are
possible."
(Mark 9:23)
Luke 18:35-43 tells the story of a blind man sitting beside
the road in Jericho. One day, the man heard a large crowd approaching him. When
he asked the reason for the noise, someone told him Jesus of Nazareth was
walking by.
Suddenly the blind man called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me.” People
standing in the front of the crowd yelled for the man to be quiet, but he
proceeded to shout even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Jesus stopped the crowd and asked for the man to be brought to him. When He
asked the man what he needed, he replied, “Lord, I want to see.”
Jesus said to him, “Okay, receive your sight; your faith
has healed you.” Jesus didn’t say I'm giving you your sight just
because I can; He gave it because the man believed he could.
'All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts
that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling
God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.'
(1 John
5:10 NLT)
In another story from Mark 5:22-36, a synagogue ruler named
Jairus fell at Jesus’
feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying, he told
Jesus. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and
live." Jesus agreed to go, but on the way to his house He was delayed.
Much later members of Jairus’
household approached them with the news that the girl had died. They told
Jairus he no longer needed Jesus’
help. Jesus paid them no attention and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid, just believe.”
Just believe. Those two words are so powerful. He doesn’t want us to question how, He doesn’t want us to question why; He simply
wants us to believe.
So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he
said.
(Acts 27:25
NLT)
As I closed the cover of my Bible that evening, I also
closed the door on all the anxious thoughts that had been racing uncontrollably
through my mind. When you take a moment to stop thinking so hard, you will find
that all God truly asks of us is to believe; we are to believe in the One He
sent to us, believe that He and His Son are one, believe that all things are
possible, and believe that His testimony is true and will be just as He said.
So if you're dealing with an area of uncertainty in your
life right now, and finding yourself questioning God because something doesn't
make sense, I ask that you join me in praising Him and just believe.
Please pray with me:
Dear Lord;
I admit to moments of insecurity and fear, to those times
when I'm not even sure I have a firm grasp on what I believe. The one thing I
am sure of though is that as long as I believe that You, the Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and that
one day You will be returning for me, nothing else really matters.
Thank You for Your truth,
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen
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10 comments:
Thank you Salina, for your post.
'Just believe' are two very powerful words as you so eloquently describe above, taking examples from Jesus' ministry.
We spend so much of our time questioning why, we often miss out on so many blessings. 'Just believe' simplifies it, and enables us to concentrate on the things that matter, the things that matter to God. Holding truth in our hearts, believing that there is a way through, when things are hard, gives us so much strength; as we rely on God, in faith. For our God is bigger, He has a perfect plan, and will never forsake us :)
Salina, this was such an awesome post. What a simple yet powerful lesson. Goes fittingly with the verses I was praying over this week, too (eph 6:19)!
Without faith it is impossible to please Him, but with Him, all things are possible! Thanks for the great post & hosting the linkup, & God bless,
Laurie
http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/
Yes, Salina, just believe! That happened to me also before - the enemy's lie that threatened to shake the core of my faith. But I clung to the truth and just believed, believed, believed until the enemy fled!
http://rinaperu.com
Hi Salina,
Nice to meet you. I found you via Shanda's link up. Good wisdom you showed to send up an SOS to friends when you were feeling overwhelmed by the enemy's lies. I love too how you armed yourself with God's word. Nice job, friend.
Have a lovely afternoon,
Jennifer Dougan
www.jenniferdougan.com
Thank you Nita. Just believing is what gets me through a lot of days. It seems like once I take that first step the rest becomes a little easier, and then as you said above He gives us the strength to keep going.
Thanks Lori. God bless.
So true Laurie. Thank you for linking up.
Thank you Rina. That's all we can do when we are overwhelmed by life....just believe.
Hi Jennifer. I'm so glad you found your way here. Thank you for reading, commenting and linking up. God bless.
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