Believe!

Do you believe that I am able to do this?

                           Matthew 9:28b NIV

 

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is

anything too hard for me?

                                Jeremiah 32:26-27

      In the Bible, we read that the blind received their sight, the mute received their voice and the deaf received their hearing. Famine turned to bounty, drought turned to an oasis, and death turned to life restored. Outnumbered troops were victorious in battle and leaders filled with fear courageously guided their people to safety. God does His best work when impossibility looms heavy over desperate circumstances.

     Today, we face the same dilemma as the blind men in Matthew nine and the prophet Jeremiah. Do I believe God is able? Is anything too hard for God? At times, I have found myself at an impasse between knowing and believing that God is able and yet wondering if He will do the impossible in my life. Surely I am not the only one.

     Lack of understanding about why you face trials when others seem to coast carefree through life might tempt you to question the motives and goodness of God. Lack of earthly physical healing when you pray in faith believing might cause you to wonder why others are healed but you or your loved one is not. Lack of response from the lost with whom you share the gospel of Christ might plummet you into depression or sorrow.

     I remember wrecking my car on a narrow icy country road. It happened so quickly that I’m not sure if I overcorrected the steering or if I hit the gas pedal. My car flew over the ditch, turned parallel with the road and landed about six inches away from a telephone pole before coming to a stop. I did not slide on the snow-covered ice. I remember grasping the steering wheel as I looked up through the windshield and hearing myself say, “Angel, I do not know your name, but thank you very much.”

     I had one payment remaining. The insurance company totaled out the car—then came the fight to get enough money for the wrecked vehicle to make a down payment on a new one. Negotiations went on for a couple of weeks. Finally, after no success, my husband got involved and we received a settlement. For a short time, I questioned God about the financial loss. One payment and I would have been debt free. Why did God allow me to wreck? While I was whining, I neglected to remember that I should have crashed into that telephone pole but instead my car dropped out of the air and came to an immediate stop.

     God taught me a good lesson through that experience. Even when things look difficult from my point of view, God is watching. I can trust Him, and I can believe Him. It is good to read His Word and believe that He is able, but it is an even greater faith-builder when we are required to apply that belief in life’s difficult circumstances.

     Although we cannot name it and claim it as some would declare, we can pray, ask and believe that God "works all circumstances for our good when we love Him and have been called according to His purpose". (Romans 8:28) 

    Don’t forget to believe through difficult circumstances. God is able and nothing is too hard for Him! There are times when it may not be going my way, but it is always going His way. I believe!

 

©JP 2013