Things I Want My Tribe To Know- #3

Things I want my tribe to know…

3.  Don’t just believe IN God, BELIEVE God!

We serve a mighty God.  A God who created this magnificent universe.  A God who sent His only Son to die on the cross then raised Him from the dead.  A God who knows every single detail about each and every one of us down to the number of hairs on our head (which I find especially amazing because we are losing strands of hair constantly, yet at every second He knows).

A lot of people believe there is a God.  In other words, they believe IN God.  I do not know what the latest statistic is.  Sadly, it is probably lowering all the time, but I would venture to guess it is still a significant number.

But, how many people actually BELIEVE God?  Believing that there is a greater Being that created everything and is convenient to pray to every now and then is not as big a commitment as actually believing God.

I do not mean to say this is in a mean way towards these people.  I feel sad for them.  It’s like they are half way there but don’t truly get the full magnitude of God and how much He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

For a lot of people, it is not a matter of not wanting to; it is a matter of not knowing how.  Faith is a funny thing.  The very definition of faith is believing in something you cannot see or prove.  This is so hard in a society that is so in your face all the time with real tangible stuff.  It is hard in this fast paced world where the moment you are made to wait, you start to doubt.  Last week, I wrote about not always getting our way.  We live in a time that tells us not getting your way should be out of the question because we deserve or are entitled to all.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  That is HARD!

There are so many promises in the bible from God.  He promises a plan for our life to make us prosper and not be harmed.  He promises good works for us to do that He has established ahead of time.  He promises us strength and wisdom and fruits of the spirit and a place at the table and a spirit of power and love and sound judgment.  He promises He is always faithful.  He promises all this and so much more.

He also promises that all things work together for those who love the Lord.  This one is one I think we possibly have the hardest time with.  In those hard moments, He whispers to our hearts, “Trust me.”  Sometimes it is really, really hard.  But He would not say to do it if it was not possible.

Maybe the problem is not fully with believing God, but the question I have struggled with for a while now is, will He?  I constantly say I believe God can do anything, but will He?  Recently, I have come to determine that that question is planted by the Enemy as a way to make me doubt God.  Or at least doubt His judgment and timing.  I am trying to take it out of my heart and out of my vocabulary.  I determine to believe Him.  Period.  End of story.  No matter what.  And I pray that my life and actions reflect that.

Believing in God is the easy part.  Believing God takes day after day, moment after moment, of intentional living.  But the outcome is so worth it!  It is beautiful.  It is surrender.  It is a lifetime of I am not in charge but I serve and glorify the One who is.  All is good because He is good.  I believe.