Jesus asks, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” in Matthew 9:28.
This question hit me between the eyes. Do I believe? Do I think God is ABLE? In my head, yes, but, I want to believe just as strongly with my heart. What’s the verse that says, immeasurably more than we can ask or think? More than we can imagine. That’s describes my God! But, my finite brain limits Him—I need to be freed from that. I need to know how small I am and how great He is.
Believing means that I need to remove the barriers I have erected, the ones that keep me protected and others at arms length. Barriers like mistrust, fear, discouragement, self-sufficiency, and self-protectiveness. These barriers create the perfect conditions for unbelief.
To believe, I let down my guard and put my complete trust in Him, without reservation. My hands are open, palms up in surrender. I am expectant because He promises to be faithful. Then, I begin to watch for His fingerprints on my life.
I have so much to learn and understand about believing in Him. I want to grow in my faith and trust in His all-powerfulness. I want to embrace each day, every opportunity, to look at things with fresh eyes, believing-eyes. He is able--I am the one who hinders Him most. Belief unlocks the ability to watch Him work in and around me in ways far greater than I can imagine.
What is it that you need to believe God for? What barriers cloud your ability to trust?
Expecting. Believing. Because He is able!!
Jeanne
Great meditation, Jeanette.
ReplyDeleteIn Beth Moore's, Believing God study, she points out that all we have to do is remember how much God has done for us in the past. That makes it easier for us to trust that God will be with us now and in the future.
Emily Akin
http://emilyakin.com/blog
I love this, Jeanne. So beautifully worded. "To believe, I let down my guard and put my complete trust in Him, without reservation. My hands are open, palms up in surrender. I am expectant because He promises to be faithful. Then, I begin to watch for His fingerprints on my life."
ReplyDeleteSo true, Emily. That is what the memorial stones are all about. We need those markers in our lives too. They help us remember to tell the next generation of His faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jeanne
Thank you for stopping by, Pat. I appreciate your encouraging words.
ReplyDeleteJeanne
Jeanne, for me I had to learn the long, hard road way to believe. I had to lose my son, Joshua, and still live in the house he died in, walk by the door of the room he slept in, for four more years before I was released.
ReplyDeleteLet me assure you, I believe.
I hope others are not as fearful as I have been to the point of unbelief. Fear is a sin, I discovered.
God's blessings to you!
Jean Ann,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with me. I am sure that you came face to face with many things during that time. I am sure you have come to know God in a richer and deeper way through your sorrow.
May your heart touch others who are in the midst of their grief.
Jeanne
Ego ... I believe my ego hand and hand with my own insecurity are my barriers. Troy Polamalu recently shared that he is on constant alert to his ego. I believe and want to surrender. Like Troy I must be on constant vigil.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder.
Thank you so much for that encouragement of faith today! Fighting the voices of doubt, searching for the place of KNOWING and TRUSTING that when it is God's plan, MUCH happens- eternal happens. How I want to be swept away in His Will- not mine.
ReplyDeleteThis really makes you think, Jeanne. Made me go back & read the Scripture. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Janet. It is amazing how you can read a scripture many times and then, zing, something hits you afresh, like reading it for the first time. I love the living, active word of God!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jeanne