Do you believe IN God, or do you BELIEVE God?
Sometimes don’t we all just feel a little bit like….. all those stories in the bible, all the people in those stories, they don’t really apply to me. I have REAL problems in current times!
I know we talk about God and his timing. We talk about his will. We talk about having faith. We talk about God redeeming and restoring what we have lost. As a believer we say these things because we believe in God. But do we actually BELIEVE God?
Holding on to hope when so many people in this world have broken their promises to us is very difficult. It’s hard to trust after trust has been broken. The human spirit has an amazing ability to keep hoping. It also has the ability to protect itself by building walls and being wary of promises. However, we can’t confuse the promises of common man with the promises of God. God is God. He is still on the throne. He always comes through. The Bible is chalk full of God fulfilling his promises. He has an impeccable track record. I can’t always count on the goodness of others, and sometimes I get discouraged and then I tend to see God through the same lens I see the broken world. That’s when I pull out my bible and read about God’s unfailing promises. What I find is that those stories from so long ago contain the same underlying struggles that I have. They leap to my heart, and restore my weary soul. And so I have to ask myself, “ Do I just believe in God, or do I believe God?”
Abram was told by God that he would be a father of many. In fact the name Abram actually translates to “father of many.” Sarah, Abrams wife, had not bore him any children. Abram believed in God. God spoke to him and made a covenant with him. But years went by and still Sara did not get pregnant. They were getting old. I mean really old! So what does Sarah do? She decides to help God out. So she gives her servant to her husband Abram to conceive a child. How many times have I believed, maybe I should be doing something to help God.? Maybe God needs me to act. What am I missing? So instead of being still and relying on the promises of God, I fire into action. God doesn’t need our help though. He needs us to believe Him. I imagine it was not easy for Sarah to believe God when month after month she was crushed when she did not conceive. Many of us know the heartbreak of that. I see myself in Sarah and Abram. I know the heart wrenching feeling of being at hopes end. My heart cries out, “God, have you forgotten me?” But their story doesn’t end there. The story ends with Sarah having a baby, and God fulfilling his promise, in His time.
Rahab hid the spies with a promise that God would protect her household when the Israelites stormed the walls of Jericho and killed all the inhabitants. After the spies left, I imagine her looking out of her window scanning the horizon for the army to come. But the spies stayed in the hills for three days once they left Rahab’s house, to evade the kings pursuit of them. Then they traveled back to the Israelite camp and crossed the Jordan river.. Joshua had to arouse the entire nation, cross the Jordan, held a ceremony to commemorate God’s faithfulness, had a circumcision ceremony, waited for them to heal, and then more time passed as they celebrated the Passover. I recount all this so you can get a glimpse of understanding of what Rahab must have experienced. Waiting is hard, especially when we see nothing happening. But can you imagine Rahab’s face when she finally looked out and saw the army coming? Her heart must have burst with hope and thanksgiving! And yet, then there was another delay. God had instructed the army to march around the walls of Jericho once, and do this for 6 days. Rahab knew none of this. I am sure this was not the rescue that Rahab envisioned. I see myself in Rahab. I would have been on an emotional roller coaster as they passed by the last corner of the wall each day, only to return to camp. Excited and then…. defeated. Full of hope, and then deflated. Its the feeling of being at hopes end. But God is not intimidated by our urgency, but driven by his purpose. He is less concerned about our wait, and more concerned about His timing, working everything for his good. Finally on the 7th day God fulfilled his promise and rescue Rahab and her family.
These are just two stories of many that I see myself in. I can identify with the heart breaking blow of feeling like your at hopes end. I find myself mistaking what I don’t see for an inactive God. When I don’t see activity I think maybe its a sign I need to go in a different direction. But God is saying, “Do you believe me?” There is a time span between when we fist believe the promises of God, and the moment that it comes to fulfillment. The amazing thing, that we sometimes overlook, is God is there in the in between as well.
When we finally come to end of ourselves it can feel as if we have come to hopes end. But that is when we need to ask ourselves the hard question….. Do I believe IN God, OR do I BELIEVE God?