What does believe mean? How do we define it? According to Dictionary.com:
Believing is :to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully. |
So often belief is based on the past. Change involves not repeating what has been done prior. By not believing, then it is self-limiting. What is belief based on there? On what has been. Not what will be. A negative, such as not, is often attached with believe. "I don't believe he'll change."
If belief is rooted in the past, then that is the direction our lives move. And if our definition of the Lord is wrapped into our worldly view of belief then we aren't truly believing who He is. For instance, if I equated "God loves me" to good times (such as Samuel's birth) and God doesn't love me (such as my husband being diagnosed with cancer) then my belief about God would be limited to a worldly definition. If I decided to believe the truth in His Word, then I believe that God loves me in both situations. Unconditionally.
So what do we believe? What is believing? Is it based on what the world states as true? The world bombards us with ideas, solutions, and self-answers. Is that believing? To think that we have the answers? It seems as if we, and myself included, are looking for our own fixes for believing....and these answers aren't based upon the truth of who God is. He tells us, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (1Corinthians 4:18). What am I believing to look at? That's the true question. Am I believing the needs the world presents or am I believing in the truth of the Word. Am I living for self? Or for Him? What's the foundation?
As I continue forward this year I'm determined to look at what it means to state I believe. For me, there's a great deal of letting go, of forgiving, of seeking the truth. Believing means looking at Him, at His Word and believing that HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS. Not temporary. But forever. Loving. Just. The lamb. My King. My Father. Jesus.
So what am I purposefully acting on? On beliefs rooted on the lies of this world? Or on the truth of the Lord? My challenge as I press on is to be aware of my thoughts. What is dictating my decision to believe at each moment? When my thoughts align with the truth of Christ then my I believe is rooted in Him.
It will be an interesting journey....
