2015 Struggling to Believe

Do you have something you’re believing God for, but you’re still battling for it to make sense in your mind? Some days it’s easy to believe what could be, and other days you wake up to current reality so hard that you can barely get out of bed. What do you do on those days? On the days when what you believe God CAN do and what is happening right now seem to be a world apart. On days when the gap between what you’re believing for and what you’re going through is a massive divide. What do you do on those days? You get real with God. Yes, just be honest. God wants to fill that gap, so don’t hide it from him in shame, invite him into it! Lord, I believe you can do anything, but right now nothing seems to be happening, so come fill this gap. I hear you, Lord – but I don’t see you, Lord. I need more help from you here. That’s the kind of relationship God is calling you into. A real one where you’re honest and you hold nothing back from him. There was once a father who’s son suffered from convulsions and seizures. The father brought his son to Jesus for healing and says, “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” Can’t you hear the desperation in the father’s plea. Have mercy. Please, if you can help us, I’m begging for your help. And Jesus says this in reply, “What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ Anything is possible if a person believes.” Mark 9:24, “The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!'” There it is. That’s what you do on those days. On the days when you’re believe what could be, but your reality nearly cripples you. On the days when you believe what God CAN do but it’s a world apart from what is happening right now. On the days when there’s a massive divide between what you’re believing for and what you’re going through. On those days, you cry out to Jesus with all your belief and all your doubt, all your knowing and all your questioning, all your surrender and all your desire to still control it – “Jesus, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” What? You think God would be disappointed if you admitted you struggle with part of you not believing he can get it right? You think God would be hurt by your questioning? Girl, God knows exactly how you really feel. He knows precisely how you’re struggling to fit his promises and your reality in the same box. He knows about that gap between what you’re believing for and what you’re going through, and all he wants is for you to stop hiding it from him and invite him into it. Lord, here’s the gap I’m struggling with – the things I don’t understand – the things I can’t see even being possible at this point – and I’m inviting you into this gap where my unbelief resides. Here’s my unbelief, help me to overcome it. I believe you, God, but I’m still struggling. You don’t have to hide in shame over your unbelief, you have to ask God to help you in it. You don’t have to be ashamed of the desires of your heart that are a far cry from current reality, you just have to invite God into the gap between the two. The father cries out to Jesus in honesty, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” And do you know what happens next? Jesus commands the spirit to come out of the boy, takes the him by the hand and helped him stand. As the father was struggling with holding both his belief and unbelief, Jesus healed his son. Jesus doesn’t need your belief to be perfect and without wavering. What he’s asking of you is to acknowledge the part of you that still struggles to believe and just invite him into it. Help me here, Jesus, where I still don’t get it. I believe you can get it right, but I’m still holding part of this back. Help me to surrender it all to you. In our study of Genesis, we see the 75 year old Abram who was married to his barren wife Sarai, and they couldn’t have children. All Abram wanted was a family. But the reality was, it was impossible. What’s the point in continuing to hope for something that is totally impossible? And that’s when God takes him outside and says, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” WOW! Amazing. In that moment, Abram believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. Then when God told Abram what was next, Abram went from a place of believing to a place of doubting. He was back in the gap of reality not aligning with God’s promise, so he questioned. And that’s what we’re supposed to do. Questioning is okay – but it must be correctly placed. Questioning doesn’t stay in your head. Questioning doesn’t stay in your heart. Questioning doesn’t fill your conversations or delay your steps. Questioning is to be brought to God. God, I believe you, but help me with my unbelief!!!!! God, I hear your promises … but HOW?!!!!! That’s the space for God to fill, so invite him into it. God, I have questions, I have doubts, I’m struggling to believe, come help me here! I’m not pulling away from you in this gap, I’m asking you to fill this gap. Genesis 15:8, Abram, the man who was counted as righteous because of his faith says to God, “O Sovereign Lord, HOW CAN I BE SURE?” And this is pleasing to the Lord! Why? Because this is how honest feelings are brought to a powerful God in faith. It takes faith to say, God, I know you can, I know you hold all the power, I know you’re in every detail, but I’m still struggling with it. It takes tremendous faith to say, God, I hear you but I don’t see it and I need more of you here. If today is one of those days when you believe what could be, but your reality is nearly crippling, you ask Jesus to help you with your unbelief. If today is one of those days where you believe what God can do, but it’s a world apart from what’s happening right now, you invite Jesus into that space and cry out to him with all your belief and all your doubt, with all your knowing and all your questioning, all your surrender and all your desire to still control it, and you say, “Lord, how can I be sure? Jesus, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! This is God’s space. Let him fill it. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com