Believe

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this [misfortune] happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord [deliver us]?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us…”

The words above could have been written yesterday, mirroring the spiritual skepticism of our age; but they were uttered almost 3,200 years ago, as recorded in the early part of the Old Testament book of Judges, by a man named Gideon…just before God showed up, did some crazy miraculous stuff, and changed reality.  They key was Gideon’s belief.

For the most part, American Christians no longer believe in miracles…apparently.  There are a few reasons why.  Part of this, indeed, is because of the immature and impostering few who have made a mockery of God for the rest of us clean-up.  Admittedly, some of us reading this (or writing this) have been willingly or unwillingly part of this…so let’s keep our pointing fingers to ourselves.  Another big reason is fear.  Fear of criticism & rejection by the world we want desperately to identify with…too desperately.  Another one is confusion of God’s role.  We seem to have this unrelentingly skewed perspective that’s God is there to make us happy…that our fulfillment and safety is His end-game.  What we see in scripture and history, however, is that God’s most amazing interventions are about His will, not ours; and He sees all of history with one glance, so His perspective is a bit different.  When we partner with what He is doing, THEN we get to be part of the extraordinary.

Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe by the world around us; God is not dead, but very much alive and active!  The thing is, our perceptions of what is real and compelling are dependent upon what we expose ourselves to…and what we allow to gain dominion over our reasoning.  Are your opinions more informed by media and popular thought, or by God’s timeless wisdom and ways?  Are you reticent to admit that God works miracles because you believe that He cannot temporarily subvert the laws of nature, or because you don’t want to be made to look foolish for hoping?

Lack of trust in God’s desire to/ability to work wonders in the plane of human existence has always had a dampening effect on it.  Even Jesus admitted that He was unable to do many miracles in the small town he grew-up in because of peoples’ lack of faith.  I think that many of us who call ourselves by the Name of Christ, don’t often live as though we actually believe He is still walking with us and desiring to do His work among us today.  Largely, we’ve adopted the critical heart of our culture and try to keep it hidden away while going through the motions of Christianity just in case He actually shows up.  Perhaps that’s too harsh?

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The Greek word “unbeliever” here is “ápistos” – from “a”-“not” and “pistós” – “faithful.” Properly, not faithful because unpersuaded, i.e. not convinced.  So the Bible isn’t talking about people who don’t call themselves Christians or go to church….it’s talking about people who don’t live like they really believe.  It’s a good thing this is a journey, right?

• “Why doesn’t God do miracles anymore?”
• “Why aren’t there prophets or epic stories like in ancient times?”
• “Why does it seem like, when I’m reading the Bible, that I’m reading fairy-tales that are detached from real life…those things just don’t happen anymore.  Where is God now?”

Have thoughts like this ever come to your mind?  Have you ever said them?  I have.  So have my children.  In fact, my inquisitive son has asked me these very questions on more than one occasion…usually accompanied by an eye-roll that corresponded to his age when asking.  But that was before he encountered the Lord for himself, and had the choice of believing on the basis of his own observations & thoughts as he grew older.

Is there really, truly a God?  Or is IT just a projection of human longing & meaning that manifests itself as all the various religions throughout the world’s regions & histories.  If the God of the Bible really is there, can He handle our questions?  Is His ego big enough to accept our inquiries?  Are the histories of His works as recorded in the ancient scriptures reliable enough to survive the fire of investigation? I am one who has asked all of these questions, and continue to aggressively search for answers, even to this day.  I can say with confidence that I believe wholeheartedly that the Biblical stories are true, reliable, and prescriptive.  I also believe that the miracles & meanings that characterized God’s activity in ancient times continue today.  I believe it theologically, because Jesus and His followers (and their followers) experienced it and said that it would continue; and I believe it because I see it with my own eyes, hear about it from people I know and trust, and learn crazy/impossible/wonderful stuff happening all over the world all the time!

There are many alternatives to the explanation that there really is One True God – Yahweh of the Jews; the God of the Patriarchs, Judges, Kings, and Prophets, as recorded in what we today call the Old Testament.  The God and Father of Jesus Christ; the Fulfiller of Prophecies who claimed to be God’s Son, miracle worker and healer, controversial teacher and leader of a Spiritual Rebellion against religious hypocrisy & greed…Who inspired the writing of the New Testament and catapulted the greatest movement of faith, hope & love the world has ever known (or will ever know).  But yes, there are many alternative explanations and paths.  There is always choice in belief…what’s important is to only go where truth and love collide.

I’m tired of listening to people give convincing arguments for why the Bible can’t be taken literally.  I wonder what will happen if, instead of getting blown-over by the wind; we decide to take God at His word, lean into it, and believe Him to show up in ways that He promises.  That’s the journey of faith, let’s do it.

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:11-14)

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:13-18)