Quick disclaimer: I'm only providing my opinions and feelings on this subject. I have never been a Bible scholar or do I pretend to have all the answers. If you disagree, I respect that. I just hope that you respect my opinion as well. Its my hope that again by sharing that some random person might accidentally read this and relate. I was very encouraged by the all the feedback for my previous post and am thankful there are so many encouraging people in my life.
Over the past year, I've been doing a lot of growing in my faith. Not in a man I know everything about God kind of way, but in a God has a grip on me and even when I stumble I feel Him calling me. To be completely honest, I don't even come close to understanding why I feel the way I feel about God or even at times that I am even worthy of Him. Yet for some reason, I know God is calling me. At times, its just this feeling I can't control. To be completely honest, having no control in any situation is something that scares the life out of me. Going from being "Christian" to wanting to be Christian has been anything but in my control. For me, the hardest thing about being a Christian is understanding that God is in control. One of the hardest things for me in general is to trust.
Proverbs 3:5 is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible for me to follow. It states "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understandings." If I followed this simple message, there really would be no need to worry or have anxiety. Ultimately, it says if you are truly seeking God, he will take care of you even when you're down and things aren't going your way or bad things happen. I could really go on and on with Bible verses that reiterate this simple message. Here's a few for your reading pleasure: Psalm 55:22, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 121:8, Psalm 37:23, Psalm 29:11 (just read all the Psalms haha.), Isaiah 41:10, Romans 5:5, Galatians 6:9, and the most simply applicable 1Peter 5:7. I actually have a bunch of cards with Bible quotes on them, its not all off the top of my head haha. The moral of the story is God has got your back if you believe.
So this gets me to my point...Why do I believe? For any Christian this is a question that is bound to come up if you have friends who are questioning, in other faith, or just plain don't believe. Its one that as a follower of Christ, you could get caught off guard and start stumbling and even getting defensive. A simple "because I do", doesn't really cut the mustard. But as I start to think about it other questions pop up. Do I believe because I'm afraid I might go to Hell if I don't? Do I believe because other people make it look cool? Do I believe because I gotta believe in something? Do I believe because it makes life less complicated? To be perfectly honest,if my answer to any of these questions is yes, then I don't truly believe.
The simple yet profound answer is: I believe because I know. What in the world does that mean?you might say. The answer, Paul really says it best: "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are all people to be pitied" (1Corinthians 15:19). Ultimately, the paradigm shift for me is that I don't hope God is real. I know he is. I know this because the way he's taking a hold of me even when I want to pull away. From the little things like the fact that I just got back from working out and had no plans on typing this and Boom! here it is. To the of rush emotion of God's presence I get in worship music and at church. Its become rare that when I'm alone and got my headphones on that I'm not listening to Christian music. I believe because I'm clueless and lost and have no idea what to think yet I still know. I believe because when I'm down and don't have the answers He still has my back. I believe because even when I get attacked or distanced from non believing friends for what I believe, I still know. I believe because of God's grace he gives.
I believe because God loves me...God's got my back.
Over the past year, I've been doing a lot of growing in my faith. Not in a man I know everything about God kind of way, but in a God has a grip on me and even when I stumble I feel Him calling me. To be completely honest, I don't even come close to understanding why I feel the way I feel about God or even at times that I am even worthy of Him. Yet for some reason, I know God is calling me. At times, its just this feeling I can't control. To be completely honest, having no control in any situation is something that scares the life out of me. Going from being "Christian" to wanting to be Christian has been anything but in my control. For me, the hardest thing about being a Christian is understanding that God is in control. One of the hardest things for me in general is to trust.
Proverbs 3:5 is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible for me to follow. It states "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understandings." If I followed this simple message, there really would be no need to worry or have anxiety. Ultimately, it says if you are truly seeking God, he will take care of you even when you're down and things aren't going your way or bad things happen. I could really go on and on with Bible verses that reiterate this simple message. Here's a few for your reading pleasure: Psalm 55:22, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 121:8, Psalm 37:23, Psalm 29:11 (just read all the Psalms haha.), Isaiah 41:10, Romans 5:5, Galatians 6:9, and the most simply applicable 1Peter 5:7. I actually have a bunch of cards with Bible quotes on them, its not all off the top of my head haha. The moral of the story is God has got your back if you believe.
So this gets me to my point...Why do I believe? For any Christian this is a question that is bound to come up if you have friends who are questioning, in other faith, or just plain don't believe. Its one that as a follower of Christ, you could get caught off guard and start stumbling and even getting defensive. A simple "because I do", doesn't really cut the mustard. But as I start to think about it other questions pop up. Do I believe because I'm afraid I might go to Hell if I don't? Do I believe because other people make it look cool? Do I believe because I gotta believe in something? Do I believe because it makes life less complicated? To be perfectly honest,if my answer to any of these questions is yes, then I don't truly believe.
The simple yet profound answer is: I believe because I know. What in the world does that mean?you might say. The answer, Paul really says it best: "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are all people to be pitied" (1Corinthians 15:19). Ultimately, the paradigm shift for me is that I don't hope God is real. I know he is. I know this because the way he's taking a hold of me even when I want to pull away. From the little things like the fact that I just got back from working out and had no plans on typing this and Boom! here it is. To the of rush emotion of God's presence I get in worship music and at church. Its become rare that when I'm alone and got my headphones on that I'm not listening to Christian music. I believe because I'm clueless and lost and have no idea what to think yet I still know. I believe because when I'm down and don't have the answers He still has my back. I believe because even when I get attacked or distanced from non believing friends for what I believe, I still know. I believe because of God's grace he gives.
I believe because God loves me...God's got my back.
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