Believe

“Blessed is she who has believed

that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Luke 1:45

Belief is a funny thing (funny odd more than funny ha-ha). As humans, and especially the female variety, we so easily believe in many things. We believe our feelings, what others say of us, what we perceive as reality, what we hear of others. We trust in people who must, by their very nature, let us down, and in financial security, which can be gone in a moment. We set our hope in things, which are temporal, unpredictable, flawed, and constantly shifting. The funny part is, we so easily place belief in these and many other things and yet we struggle to believe The Truth, The One who is the Ever-Presence. He will never harm us but only love, never change but remain steadfast in His goodness, He is never wrong but always right. He is eternally faithful and trustworthy, unmatched in His power and strength, Above All. This list could go on forever so I’ll stop and allow you to fill in the______________.

Belief is also a powerful thing (powerful as in powerful). Everything that we feel, all that we do, every word we speak finds its origin in what we believe. It is no wonder God’s Word so often admonishes us to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), to be transformed in our mind (Rom 12:2), to be made new in the attitude of our mind (Eph. 4:23), just to name a few. What is equally wondrous is the result when we obey these directives—strongholds are demolished, God’s will is known, and we will be clothed in God’s righteousness and holiness. Look at the account of Mary in Luke 1:45, Elizabeth had it right—Mary was blessed because she believed. Blessed how? Certainly not by her circumstances, she had left home to isolate herself, she faced ridicule and scorn as an unwed mother-to-be, and she was nearly abandoned by her betrothed. She certainly was not blessed by her feelings, she was in her 1st trimester of pregnancy after all—nausea, uncertainty, hormones, fatigue, fears with even more fun stuff to come including a trek across the country when she was full on pregnant. Could Elizabeth have been wrong? No! Mary was blessed by what she received from the knowledge of her Lord simply because she believed. How do I know? The very next verse in Luke begins Mary’s beautiful song of praise to God. Before Christmas night, when she held her baby Son, God Himself, in her arms, she poured out her heart in praise to her Lord as proof that she was blessed because she believed Him.

You see, what you believe of God changes EVERYTHING!! Regardless of anything else, how you feel, what you perceive, and how you live are all transformed by the security of belief in the Solid Rock. So, what do you believe? The answer is in how you feel, what you say, the choices you make, and what you do. Perhaps you might sit before the Lord with this prayer, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for Your love is ever before me, and I walk (or want to walk) continually in Your truth.” Psalm 26:2 & 3
That You May Know (Believe) Him More,

Kimberlie Jones

Eph. 1:17