Episode #37 Okay God, If You Say So- What God Sees

I'm starting off today with a confession. Sometimes I struggle to believe what God says about me. So if you can relate to that, stay tuned because this episode is for you and God wants to increase your ability to believe him.

So, realizing that I had this problem was kind of funny for me because as Christians, we are reconciled to God by believing in Jesus. So, this was really eye-opening when I realized that somehow I could believe in Jesus for salvation, but I struggled to believe what he and what the Bible said about me in other areas, especially when it came to areas of identity.

There are a lot of times in my life, even present day, where I realize that I'm not actually living like I believe I am who he says I am. We're talking about this as we enter this new series of talking with God about what he sees and knows about us because God's vantage point is different, and as we start talking with him about these things, it's important that we believe what he has to say.

I hadn't put it together before, but it was basically like if he had asked me, well, do I believe what God says about himself? I would say, sure, a hundred percent. But if you asked me, do you believe what God says about you? My genuine answer would be maybe sometimes. And I can see this play out in a variety of ways in my life. Sometimes just moving so quickly through things that I forget to believe him. I can fall into a broken pattern or perspective. I get so caught up in the rushing of day-to-day life or just experiencing so much pain in an area that I forget or I don't realize that how I'm living doesn't actually line up with what God says about who I am or how he invites me to live. I also will have limitations or gaps in my faith. And God is always inviting us to receive more faith from him to come to him and to believe in him.

I wanted to share with us from Mark 9, and this is when Jesus is healing a boy with an unclean spirit and the boy's father cries out to Jesus to do something if he can, and of course Jesus can. And so he responds and I'll read Mark 9:23-24. It says, "and Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes". Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe, help my unbelief."

I so relate to this man. I have faith and I need God's help increasing my faith. I will walk in belief and waiver or falter and need God's help. I will come to him wanting to believe what he says about me is true. Wanting to believe that I am redeemed. That I am held righteous before him. I want to believe what he says about my identity. What he says about his love and his care for me. And when I falter questioning those things, or doubting if that's true of me, or even sometimes believing that's true about somebody else, but not really fully embracing that it's a hundred percent true for me, I can call out to God and ask him, help me with my unbelief.

And so I invite you to consider today what is something that God says about you that is hard for you to believe? We're gonna ask him about it and talk more with him about it. But before we get there, I know that it's not always a quick turnaround to move from struggling to believe God to now I believe him. So here are some practical steps that we can take.

1. Please don't fake it till you make it.

We can go to God as our greatest source, as the one who loves us and cares for us more than anyone else. We don't have to fake to him, to ourselves, to anyone else that we have belief that we don't have. Instead, we get to ask God to help us believe.

2. Seek to fortify your faith.

So yes, we go and we ask God to increase our faith, and then we partner with God in his work in our lives by walking that out. What is God inviting you to do to fortify your faith? Maybe some of this uncertainty that you have comes from not genuinely knowing what the Bible says, or only knowing what other people have described to you instead of knowing for yourself. Or maybe it would be helpful for you to talk with a trusted mentor in your life to help receive their perspective, their encouragement, even their guidance in how to build your faith in this area.

3. Walk out the increase of faith.

When we look back at the story of the father with his boy, he doesn't ask Jesus to help his unbelief and then take the boy away. He walks out the faith that he is trusting that God will entrust back to him. What does that look like to continue walking out the increase that you could believe more of what God says about you?

So here's today's question: God, what's something you say about me that's hard for me to really believe?

Now, I encourage you. Don't answer the question for yourself or skip over hearing God's reply. Whatever God tells you, talk with him more about it. Ask for Him to help you understand and ask for his help growing in that belief. God is fully trustworthy and that includes what he says about us.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

Connect with Jen on Instagram