Tag: Faith journey

Why Do You Believe?

Have you ever asked yourself why you believe what you believe?

The most important question to ask is “Why?”. We should ask ourselves why are we doing what we’re doing. We should ask others why they believe what they believe so that we can better understand them. We should even ask God why, because then we open our minds to understanding His greater purpose for everything.

I asked my Bible study one of the hardest, yet most important, questions we can ask ourselves as followers of Christ: Why do you believe in Jesus? I limited them to only a few sentences, since we all had shared our testimonies before, and because if an unbeliever asks us this, they likely don’t want to hear an entire essay response.

My answer was this:

I believe in Jesus because I have experienced His love and grace firsthand. He has brought me through the toughest seasons of my life by giving me a feeling of peace that couldn’t have come from anyone else. He gives my life a purpose, the purpose everyone longs for until they find Him.

What I loved most about this exercise was the diversity in responses. Some spoke of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace. Others focused on His love and kindness. Many cited times of when Jesus did something in their lives that changed their perspectives.

There’s this false idea that we all have to come to faith the same way. We must have a “mountain top experience” and never have doubts afterwards. We must be faithful church-goers, have all the answers, and have an unwavering trust in God.

But that isn’t true. While it’s wonderful for those of us who’ve had mountain-top experiences, it isn’t required for being a true believer. It’s normal, and even healthy, to have doubts. We just need to bring our questions to God. It’s good to go to church, to understand the Bible, and to trust God, yet our faith journey is like a rollercoaster sometimes, especially at the beginning. Just because you are struggling to trust God or find the right community for a season doesn’t mean you aren’t saved. What’s important is that you’re seeking God with all your heart.

Today, ask yourself the tough question: Why do you believe in Jesus? Write down whatever comes to mind. This will not only prepare you for answering that question in the future, but it will solidify your faith. Those doubts often come from not knowing why or what we believe in. Often, finding these answers and reminding yourself of how God has taken care of you will give you peace.

Once you allow God’s peace to fill your heart, you’ll feel free to let go.

 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.

1 Chronicles 22:19

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Acts 17:27

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Not Just for Display

Have you been longing to hear from God? Maybe this will help you deepen your relationship with Him.

I have a collection of bar soaps along my bathroom counter. Today when I was trying to pump soap out from my dispenser, I realized there was no more left. I was frustrated, thinking that I would have to go searching around the house for another dispenser of soap. That’s when I looked right in front of me and saw all those unused soaps. They were serving no purpose. The reason soap was created, of course, is to clean our hands. Not for collecting dust by being a display piece on my counter.

As I grabbed a fresh bar of soap, I thought about another item that is possibly collecting dust on our desks when it really should be used to its full potential.

That would be our Bibles. They aren’t just for display.

I’ve noticed that we (and this includes myself!) often turn to other sources to interpret the Bible for us. We would rather hear someone tell us that the Bible says exactly what we want to hear instead of actually doing the work to find out our answers for ourselves. It can certainly be hard, in a era where all of life’s solutions seem to be at our fingertips. We don’t want to do the hard work of digging deep into the Word of God in order to really know for ourselves if a choice, action, or decision is God’s will.

But friend, we are so missing out if we don’t dive into the Word of God! These are God’s love letters to us, our source of encouragement and hope. We shouldn’t be content with living off of someone else’s relationship with God. We should want to know the answer enough to do the work to find it.

The Bible is more than just a book. It’s alive and active. It never ages the way everything else does. Believe it or not, the people in the Bible struggled with the same sins we do. If you don’t believe me, check out the story of Noah. All the sins mentioned there are the same ones we are currently grappling with– and worse!

But reading the Bible isn’t supposed to be a boring task that we try to get through as quickly as we can (and I have certainly struggled with this). This is our time to really hear God’s voice. We wish we knew exactly what God wanted for us, right? So that we can have the best life possible?

Well, good news! You can know exactly what God wants for you by reading the Bible! Once you know how God feels about things and how He has spoken to others in the past, you can use those things to guide you in future decisions.

The Bible has messages that can be hard to accept. That’s often why we avoid reading it for ourselves and settle for cheap interpretations. Here’s something to look out for. Just like in science, if someone is making bold statements without any evidence, we wouldn’t want to believe them, right? Same goes for the Bible. If someone is claiming that God says a certain thing, but then doesn’t give any verses or even any context around the verses they may share, then how can we possibly believe them?

We need to be firm in our faith in order to stand up for it and to fully know what we believe in. The only way to do that is to make our faith our own by reading the Bible for ourselves.

If you have read the Bible and firmly believe with your whole heart that God is telling you something through it, even if I wouldn’t have naturally agreed with you, I will completely respect your thoughts because you have done the research and felt God’s Spirit guiding you.

But at this exact moment, can you honestly say that your faith is entirely your own? If someone asked you what you believe, what would you say?

Those are tough questions, and I’m not perfect, so I would struggle with answering them too. That’s why I’m going to give you a new challenge, and I will take it as well. Take some time each day to study the Bible for yourself. Find out if that action is a sin. Find out how much God loves you. Find out what God promises for your future.

Don’t settle. Never settle.

God’s Word is there to remind you of your purpose and how loved you are. Don’t waste this precious gift.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

-Hebrews 4:12

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17