Believing In What You Can NOT See

"Rayford's mind argued against his instincts.  Dr. Ben-Judah believed they were safe, that this was a city of refuge, the place God had promised.  And yet Rayford had lost a man here just days before.  On the other hand, the ground attack by the GC had been miraculously thwarted at the last instant.  Why couldn't Rayford rest in that trust, believe, have confidence?"

Left Behind Series: The Remnant (pg 3, para 2)

I started reading The Remnant just the other day.  It is part of the Left Behind Series, and it has been one of the things that has brought me closer to the Lord.  Ever since reading this paragraph the other day this last sentence has stuck with me a lot.

"Why couldn't Rayford rest in that trust, believe, have confidence?"  

Trust

Why do we find it so hard to trust in the Lord?  We go to church and believe what the Bible tells us about the Lord having a plan for us, that he will take care of us. (I understand not everyone who is reading this blog goes to church or is even a believer.)  He is there to walk beside us when times get difficult, even when we feel as if he is no one to be found in our lives.  God tells us the actions he will take at the end of time to protect us from Satan.  Rayford got scared as he saw the missles coming toward Petra, even though he knew it was the Holy City God had led is people to for protection.  He doubted what God had already told him, not only in the Bible but through the word of other people speaking for him. 

God leads us to specific places in our lives for him, but sometimes things look like they aren't going to work and we start to doubt God

 

1 "May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
    may the name of the God of Jacob protect you."

4 "May he give you the desire of your heart
    and make all your plans succeed."

7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalm 20: 1,4.7

 

These verses show us that the Lord is with us when we are going through trials and temptations and that we need to trust the Lord and not material things.  As long as we lean on the Lord he will provide for us.  It is when we turn to man or our own thinking over God that things can get a little more complicated.  A verse we are all to familiar with...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

- Proverbs 3:5

 

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me."

John 14:1 (antidote for a troubled heart)

 

Believe

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

-John 3:17

 

We all have things/people in out life that constantly disappoint us or lie to us.  After awhile we stop believe in that person or thing.  As immature Christians, we think that by accepting God life will become easier.  But God tell us this is not the case.  We still got through rough patches and sometimes tragedies causing us to question God. "why are you putting me through this?  What are you trying to tell me?" We even, after accepting Christ, don't really change out ways and expect things to be different.  But how can you believe in someone who causes such things to happen and to people you care about and believe in what they say?  I used to ask God why he was putting me through hard times a lot.  Why was it me, at 11 years old that I lost my father?  What was I suppose to learn and gain from that experience?

Before I go any further about belief in God, let me get one thing across.  No, none of us now have truly seen God.  But we believe in a lot of things that we can not see and have only heard about... aliens, ghosts, karma, intuition (gut feeling).  You've heard of these things and believe in them, but have you ever actually seen them?  You can feel what we call intuition and hear of what we call karma, but it's nothing we can actually see! That a loved one that has passed away is watching over you.  
 

So what makes believing in God and His word any different?  It doesn't...  What makes believing in God and believing in what He has told us so many times, especially during the revelation, any different?

Back on track...By turning to God through prayer and His word you start to understand the actions that happen in your life and start to find your purpose.  It's amazing, in some of my most trivial times, how God's words have been a slap in the face to me.  Turning to him has given me peace in situations and those situations hare meant to test our faith.

How did I get to testing our faith when talking about belief?

 

Faith - complete trust or confidence in someone or something; strong belief in God or in the doctrines of religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof

Belief - an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists; trust, faith, confidence in someone or something

 

Faith and a belief in something are on in the same.  If you have faith in someone or something, you believe in it because it is something you can count on.

 

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"

- Hebrews 11:1

 

Confidence

As we grow up, we develop skills/abilities/talents that we love and do well at.  With practice of these, you become more confident in yourself and what you can do.  Our relationship with God is exactly like these things we practice.  We have to work on our relationship with God everyday, getting more involved in his word.  Just like any talent you have, you have to be more involved to get better.  As you spend more time in God's word you build a stronger relationship with Him and a confidence in His word and plans.  Even in the trials, you have no doubt that God will provide for you and lead you down the path that is greater than you even imagined for yourself, and it could be one that we have never even thought of and completely opposite from you current goal.  You become more at peace with the everyday knowing God is working in your life.  Just like skills you develop become so engrained in you that you could do them with your eyes closed.  Your confidence in your relationship with Christ allows you to share not only your story and how your confidence, faith and belief in God might help and apply to others, but also part of the Bible that applies to that person as well.  We are only but a vine of God meant to spread His word to the world.
Go out and be confident in God's word and your abilities!

~God Bless

"Training strength and endurance mentally, physically, and spiritually."