For those of you who know me, I have an interesting job. No, not my role as a Pastor; my calling I treasure. I mean my job, my 9-5; well 9 until whenever.
I work hosting and servicing some really interesting folks from various church backgrounds and denominations. All is very fascinating. A wonderful, colourful plethora of people who really love the Lord in their own way, style and ability.
Having worked with many of these groups for over eight years, there is something that I have noticed. Becoming friends with many across this vast sea of people, belief and faith are everyone’s struggles along this journey.
Belief and faith are everyone’s struggles along this journey.”
Thousands of people all worshiping Jesus. The desire to touch His heart and see Him afresh in their own way; expressing a hunger. Yet all, at times are faced with this simple question, “Do I believe?”
At times it can seem like we are supposed to live in this un-realistic bubble. A bubble where Jesus is running around us 24 hours a day, fighting away all these baddies and evil things. Then we walk in the middle, singing songs; dancing amongst the daisies. Well that kinda thing ain’t true!
Life will have unexpected things thrown at you, but it’s always how we position ourselves at the oncoming object that matters. Our belief in the Lord must be in check, if it is then we can give that curve ball a great big whack and send it into oblivion.
“My children love superheroes.”
I’ve often watched my children, who are all going through the phase of absolutely loving different superheroes. I’m sure they’ll say, “And you do too dad!”
One day I asked my children why they loved superheroes so much, especially my ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. Both with highly excitable voices, one said; “Because nobody can beat them daddy,” and the other replied, “Because they can do anything, everything!”
I reflected on this as they watched Marvel’s Avengers, for possibly the tenth time! They were hooked on the fact that these guys simply believed. They believed that whatever the odds were against them, there was a way through. There was hope, they just believed.
“I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.”
Aunt May from Spider-Man 2
“True belief triggers action.”
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone coming to God must believe that HE rewards them that diligently seeks Him.”
Often times as we grow as adults, we lose our ability to simply believe. This could be due to life’s hard knocks, soft knocks or any kind of knock. These knocks de-stabilise our confidence in whom we have become and what we are actually able to achieve.
The key here is to NOT see the moments as negative, yet turn and see them as tools to sharpen our belief. Tools that have come to sharpen our focus, deepen our trust, strengthen our courage and better our response to the knocks. Before we know it, we have believed and we become our own hero.
After Jesus’s resurrection he revealed Himself to His disciples. He turned to one of them and said: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen yet believed” (John 20:29).
Jesus placed a great emphasis here on our ability to believe in Him, even without having seen Him. Something innate in us can lay hold of it; belief. Belief can create an ‘unwavering conviction’ and thus ignite action. Jesus said “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.” According to Webster’s dictionary, the adjective ‘blessed’ means to “enjoy happiness.” This can signify that there are degrees or levels of happiness that we can attain when walking in belief.
My aim in all of these brief illustrations about belief is simply believe. As you do, there may be challenges but simply believe that God will come through for you. Simply believe that Jesus CAN! Jesus said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid, just believe and she will be well!” (Luke 8:50, Mark 5:36).
In all the thousands of Christians I have met over the years when referring back to my job, each one has been tested in their own way. They have come through having learned valuable and crucial new lessons on how we need to just Simply Believe!
“Belief and faith are everyone’s struggle along this journey, but simply believe!”
Thank you for reading this blog post.
Pastor Michael Da Costa