The wonder of God!

The glory of God coming in flesh to rescue us!

The awesomeness of the Holy Spirit indwelling those who are His, to reveal, to comfort, and to convict!

The dangerous delight of the presence of God.

It can bring peace, and it can rattle the soul!

But are we sometimes too complacent?

Are we so familiar with God and His Word, so lazy with His truth and conviction that we don’t believe Him as we ought?

Are we so self-satisfied and even puffed up with our knowledge of Him that we are too casual with His grace and mercy as well as when He cuts to our hearts?

Are we functionally unthankful for it all in the midst of life, from the incredibly good days to the hard and even the mundane?

Do we, who are truly His, sometimes settle for mediocrity in our walk with Him?

Do we too quickly forget the riches of His mercy in the midst of our every day?

Are we often in danger of being reckless and even losing the wonder of the scandalous beauty of redemption?

May it never be!

The LORD came to a pagan named Abram and promised him something physically impossible, and he believed God. (Genesis 15)

Let that sink in!

The LORD spoke, and Abram believed Him!

He believed what He said, and He trusted Him.

“Abram didn’t believe IN God – THAT He exists.  He believed GOD and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:22)  (Study on Jonah, Page Brown)

And the people of Ninevah did the same when Jonah proclaimed the Word of the LORD.

They didn’t believe Jonah.

They didn’t just believe IN God.

They BELIEVED GOD!

And that belief led to repentance.

That belief led to an awe of God and a different way of thinking and living.

That belief led to new life.

That belief led them to become new creations.

Do we believe God?

Do we, who have access to the Word of the LORD, the Bible, 24/7, believe God enough to trust Him, to submit to Him, to obey His commands (the ones we find easy and the ones we would rather not exist), to truly repent and be the new creations He has redeemed for His pleasure?

Do we believe Him enough to share the glorious good news of His steadfast love with those we enjoy being around and those we have “written off” as ones who won’t come?

Do we believe Him enough to let go of unforgiveness and/or roots of bitterness for either right or wrong causes?

Do we believe Him enough to be humble in our dealings with one another as believers, walking in freedom from sin and to righteousness, and so able to live with one another in full not partial truth and without deceit because we walk in mercy from God and for each other?

Do we believe Him enough to live a life – in words, attitudes and actions – that reflects Him to unbelievers as well, who know we claim Christ and who are watching to see if it makes a difference in who we are?

Do we believe Him enough to rest in His sovereign will for us even if it feels mundane, ordinary, uncomfortable, or, on a completely different level, devastating?

Or do we have lots of knowledge of Him, believe in Him, and live in two worlds that cannot co-exist rightly – faithfulness to Him and self-rule?

The one is where we see and acknowledge Jesus as LORD and Savior, God as King and the supreme authority in our lives and so submit to that rule and allow Him to change our desires and die to self. 

The other is where we decide which commands we will obey and what commands we will tweak to fit our comfort, our self-determining hearts, and what we feel and desire apart from the LORD, where we live as if we are repeating the deceitful question from across the ages, “Did God really say?”

There is freedom in BELIEVING God!

There is joy in BELIEVING God!

There is a steadiness in BELIEVING God!

There is danger in only believing IN God – “…even the demons believe and shudder.” (James 2:19)  It is for that reason some wander from the faith and will hear on that final day, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-24)

It doesn’t mean we will not wrestle, but our wrestling must always lead to rest in Him, to submitting our lives, choices, and circumstances to Him knowing He is good and His commands and His will for us are good…even when it doesn’t feel good or is contrary to our wants and desires, even ones rooted in what is good and right.

It must always lead to yielding our lives and saying, “Not my will but yours, Lord.  Use me where and how you will.”

It must always lead to surrendering our time, gifts, and all we are and have to His purposes.

They BELIEVED God alone and were able to walk away from everything that kept them from walking in freedom.

They BELIEVED God and were able to come to Him in true repentance when “self” got in the way.

They BELIEVED God alone and found relationship with Him!

They BELIEVED God alone and found delight!

They BELIEVED God alone and found rest!

BELIEVE God, be still, and know!