BELIEF IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again. “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
John 11:23-25 (NLT)
I often talk about situational atheism. What I mean is that I believe God holds the whole world in His hands, but I don’t know if I can trust Him with this situation. I believe God can do anything for most people, but sometimes I doubt He’ll do it for me. This is what’s happening with Martha. She believes in the power of Jesus, but she isn’t convinced it can help her in this moment. It’s one thing to have a general belief about something but another to believe in something. Jesus doesn’t want us to believe things about Him. Instead, He wants us to believe in Him—to have a trust that defies what our physical eyes can see. We all trust in something; what Jesus is saying is, Trust in Me, believe in Me even when it doesn’t make sense. If you have a trust in Jesus, you don’t have to see things with your physical eyes because God has given you spiritual eyes to know that when you’re with God, He’s always good.
Difficult times allow our faith to grow in new ways, but it also reveals the level of faith we have. In the same way a game reveals what the practice cannot, pain reveals what the good times simply cannot. No matter where you are in your faith journey, God will continue to grow your faith if you keep your eyes on Him and live in His love. Faith isn’t something you stir up in yourself. It’s something God stirs in you as you draw near. If you hang around with certain people, they affect how you speak, think and live. In the same way, being with God allows us to become like Him. You cannot become like Him with willpower. You only can by being with Him. Make a decision today to draw near to God. Make a decision today that you will believe in Him regardless of what you see in your circumstances. Let your faith grow deeper in the difficult times so that the life of Jesus is your life. Let faith rise up.
APPLICATION: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit to reveal where God has been faithful to you before during difficult times. Ask God where the enemy is creating doubt and fear, and ask Him to replace it with faith and hope. Ask the Spirit to help you believe in Him more than ever before.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?