Is It Belief

“Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed. ‘” John 20:29

If you ask any Christian if they believe Heaven is real, they will probably answer yes. And if you were to ask any Christian if God loves them, you would probably get the same response. Most of us have been taught all our lives that Heaven is a real place and that God truly loves us. We say with little hesitation that we believe the words in the bible are true, and we really mean it. However, have we ever examined what we say we believe, not to validate that truth, but rather to see if we live that truth?

This idea came to me as I remembered watching the movie “Heaven Is for Real”. It tells the true story of a small-town Pastor who must find the courage and conviction to share his son’s extraordinary life-changing experience of having gone to Heaven during an operation to save his life in this world. As the movie progresses, more evidence comes to light regarding the validity of this event. Do not worry, I will not spoil the movie for those who have not seen it. However, I will say he did struggle with the idea  of sharing this with others. He, being a Pastor, began questioning his own beliefs.

I read this quote some time ago and it came to mind again as I was thinking about these implications for myself. 

“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.” – C.S. Lewis.  

What C.S. Lewis was saying is that it is easy to believe something as long as there is no risk associated with this belief. For instance, let’s look at a rope. If you need to wrap it around a bag to close the opening, there would be no issue because it could easily be done. But what if you had to use that rope to hang over a cliff? Would you not test the strength of the rope prior to using it? I believe you probably would.

I must say, this idea has humbled me much through the years when, as I faced some hard times, I did not react as I knew I should. God was dealing with these issues in my life, helping me see where my responses do not line up with my so-called beliefs. For instance, during hard financial times in the past, I had a tendency to become very stressed, wondering how I would find the means to pay for extraordinary expenses that come up, or how I would be able to retire at some point and pursue a life of benevolence and service? I finally realized I had some doubts about God’s willingness to meet my needs. I knew He was able to, but was He going to? Then God showed me, through remarkable means, that a teaching in Matthew was true. 

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34.

I realized I was not seeking the kingdom first, but other things I had put in my way. After accepting this truth, I made adjustments, predominantly in the way I prioritized my life. And because of this I am seeing the reality of His Word. And I am continuing this self-examination on an ongoing basis. I want to remove all doubts I have that His Word is absolutely true. I thought I really believed as I should, and in my mind I was convinced I had this one down pat. But when I had to actually rely on Him, and His promises, I failed miserably. Not because of Him, but because of me.

The question boils down to this, do we really believe what we say we believe? This can be hard to ascertain if we have not experienced this. For instance, can we really believe God will provide in the midst of financial trouble if we have never experienced financial trouble? It comes down to understanding His love for us, as well as getting to know Him and not just about Him. This was quite convicting to me. I have come to the conclusion that the more I think I know, the more I realize I do not. Don’t get me wrong, there are areas where I trust Him completely. For instance, when I was totally blind for four months, I was completely at peace, knowing that God could restore my sight, and if He chose not to, He had a purpose in my life to be in that condition. I never struggled with my faith during this time. However, there are areas where I say I absolutely believe, and then God allows something to happen which shows me I do not. And I welcome those times, for it is then that I experience tremendous growth in my life and my relationship with God. As much as I hate trials, it is where I find the greatest joy of seeing how He brought me through and gave me a deeper revelation of His love and grace.

I want to encourage you to explore these areas for yourself. Are there things you think you believe, but when times get tough, you react differently from true belief in this area? You are not alone. Even the apostle Peter found Himself there when He denied the Lord three times.

“Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:54-62.

And just as He did for Peter, He will also pour His love, grace, and forgiveness upon us. He may place us in circumstances that will test our faith and belief, allowing us to see where we truly are as opposed to where we think we are. And that may be difficult to see; however, it is essential to our Christian walk. We need to have total faith in God in that whatever happens, He is enough. That He is more than enough. When we get there, in every aspect of our life, we shall have peace and contentment no matter what our situation is. How much better we will feel when we truly believe everything the scriptures tell us is true. I am finding that peace in my life, and I am encouraging you to make the effort to join me in rooting out the doubts that plague us. We may not see them until it matters, but they are there just waiting for the opportunity to show themselves. God is infinitely loving, merciful and gracious. He wants what is best for us, but sometimes, He will take us through hard times to help us get there. And when we do, oh how much better life will be.