Hey friend!
Welcome back to my coffee table! (Can we make that a thing? lol)
I'm so glad you're here. I just want to take a second to remind you how loved you are. It doesn't matter if you're having a bad day, don't feel loved, feel like you're just in a dry season, etc... He loves us! While we sit here and spend this time together, I want you to know that you can be real. You can ask yourself and God real questions. Don't be afraid.
With today's topic, I pray that you can ask those questions sincerely and really search your heart, while also asking God to change, mold and transform your heart to be aligned with Him!
The other night I got home from a long day and I had so much on my mind. I began to think about certain things in my life and if I'm honest, my fears and doubts began to creep in. I wondered about some unanswered prayers and in my humanity wondered what would come about them. Will it be what I desire? What will the answer look like? But! Those thoughts couldn't make it very far... before I knew it, the Lord whispered to my weary and tired heart.... "Do you believe?"
In that moment I began to think of all the times when Jesus spoke about belief/faith. The times where He addressed and questioned these qualities in some. The same question He asked me had been asked in the past & so I was led to a place where that very question arose... the scripture is Matthew 9:27-31. Here we find ourselves with two blind men. It is a very short, yet very impactful story that I want to share with you all. I'll let the scripture speak for itself...
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out.” But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that whole area.
As I further studied this scripture, I found the parallel between this account and salvation. Between physical blindness and spiritual blindness and how faith ties them together. How Jesus gives us the ability to SEE through that faith! But, that is not what I'll be focusing on at this particular moment. Thank you Jesus for so many revelations and being so intentional Your Word!
Right now, I want to focus in on a question within this passage. At this point you can probably guess what it is...
“Do you believe that I can do this?"
When I read that question, I was thrown aback .... Those unanswered prayers that I have... Do I believe that He can and will answer them? Do I believe that His will is best? Do I believe God even when the mountain is so big I feel like I'll never see the other side? I've seen God do things in the past... do I believe that He can do them again? Or are my circumstances making me doubt who God says He is? Is my belief wavering because of the storm I find myself in?
In that moment, nothing else mattered to the blind men. Not even what others may have seen as impossible. Maybe they were mocked by unbelievers. Maybe they were pushed to the side because of their condition, but because Jesus was the object of their faith, He healed them. It wasn't their faith in what people said or what they thought possible that healed them, it was their belief in Jesus and that He could. They TRULY believed that Jesus was who He said He was. He didn't heal them or answer their plea just because they wanted it, but because of their belief in Him.
Belief... our faith in God... Our wholehearted belief that He can and that He will if it is in His will to do so... Do you find yourself in unbelief? Let's look further into the Word and what God says about belief.
"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Matthew 21:22
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Mark 11:24
"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways."
James 1:5-8
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
John 14:12-14
Wow! How encouraging. The Lord puts NO limits on our prayers to Him, let us believe that He can and He will if it's according to His will and for His glory! Belief and faith are not only vital in our prayer life, but they bleed into every area of our lives as proved by the verses above.
Our belief in God begins at salvation and continues on through our process of sanctification. It goes on into our day to day life and what we read in the scriptures. If there is no belief behind the reading of scripture, then you are just reading words on a page. There will be no transformative work in your life because there will be no desire or supplication to the Lord for change. If there's no belief in who God says He is behind our prayers, then they are just words.
Simple and sweet... today I just want you to ask yourself the question.... Do believe God? Do you believe His Words to be true? Do you believe that He keeps His promises?
These questions will determine so much about the power of your Christian life and your relationship with the Lord.
Dear friend... you are Divinely Loved.
Be encouraged and challenged today!
Valerie Nicole