. . . only believe

“Do not be afraid. Only believe.” - Jesus (Mark 5:36)

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:27-29)“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you and watch over you.” (Ps 32:8)Most of the time, believing God isn’t our initial response to His counsel and instruction to our hearts (as we read His Word, hear His Word taught or in prayer / on the go... as He speaks to our hearts). Initially, we’re afraid, doubting, wondering, or just plain slow in our response when His word comes to our hearts.

And in case we’ve forgotten, we’re ’believers.’ We’re known to the world as believers. That’s because we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ— that He is who He says He is. We’re now marked as “one of those believers.” But when it comes to actually believing Him throughout the day, throughout our lives, we are weak in our believing—as seen in the lack of joy that accompanies believing.And why does it seem so difficult to simply believe Him—believe what His Word says—believe what He is speaking to our hearts? Because we are fallen creatures and, no matter how much we grow in Him, it will probably not be our initial response until these fallen bodies are glorified.

So, stop getting down on yourself when you find yourself being a doubting Thomas. But don’t stay there… Jesus isn’t always going to come to you as He did with Thomas and say, “Reach out your hand and put into in my side…”. Just start believing and rejoicing! Hey—you’re going to heaven! Do you believe that? Then rejoice! Hey—all your sins are paid in full—and God has set His love on you both now and forever - love that flows like a mighty rushing river! Do you believe that? Then rejoice! He has made you a new person—a companion and partner with Him throughout all eternity.

Do you believe that? Then rejoice! Joy is a way to proclaim your belief to the angels, to the demons and to God; to unashamedly let the whole universe know that you really do believe what God has said. And why shouldn't we believe and rejoice? We're believing in a God who if faithful and true. We have a whole Bible that testifies to His faithfulness and truthfulness. Not only that, we have our own history of God's faithfulness, mercies, and kindnesses - God writing "His-story" into our hearts.God knows that you and I struggle in having that simple child-like faith. The enemy also knows that when a believer simply believes God and rejoices, he/she becomes powerful in God's kingdom and a threat to his. That's why the enemy hits us with all he has the moment he sees us starting to believe God (and gives a double shot when he sees us dare rejoice!).Remember, the Lord is kind and will help us out - even when our heart is doubting. One man said to the Lord, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” (Luke 9:24). If you're struggling with believing, this is a good place to start.