ONLY BELIEVE
Part Two – His Love Empowers Faith
Mark 5:36 “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
There are two ways of looking at this instruction of Jesus to the ruler of the synagogue. Each of these two views has its adherents. Are they both correct? Or is only one? I have reason to believe that both views are correct, but one reveals a more powerful persuasion to believe. Let’s look at both views.
View 1. Being in the presence of Jesus, the ruler saw God’s love in His eyes and heard it in His voice. Thus he was persuaded by God’s love that he could trust Jesus.
View 2. Just make the decision to not fear but instead, believe.
The second view is the one I call, “Just get over it.” I am trying to remember when this was enough for me to walk in the confident peace of faith. As yet, those that most readily come to mind actually turn out to support view 1.
VIEW 1
I formerly thought several important events in my life were good examples of “just choosing to trust.” One that comes readily to mind is the approach of Hurricane Opel in October 1995. The eye of Opal made landfall between Fort Walton Beach and Navarre in northwestern Florida. We lived in Valparaiso Florida, about 20 miles to the east. Most hurricane observers know that the strongest winds and the highest wave surges occur along the east side (right front quadrant) as these storms make landfall. Having been a weather officer for the Air Force, I knew our home was on the wrong side of this hurricane. The storm’s strong wind field was also large enough that those dangerous winds would hit us head on.
Our children were teenagers and did not all make it home in time for us to leave the area before the evacuation routes were jammed. We did everything we knew to prepare our home for the worst possible impact. Everything the storm could pick up and throw against our ceiling-to-floor glass windows was removed or secured. Still there was the wooden privacy fence and many pine and oak trees. Fence boards or tree limbs could break off and fly through those windows. Once high winds penetrate a house, the roof can be lifted off. I thought about all those things as I prepared.
After 11 pm that night I lay down next to my wife to try to sleep while the storm raged outside. My mind was racing. Had I done everything? Had I forgotten something? I went over everything several times. Then it happened. No, not disaster. The Lord interjected (spoke) into my thoughts, “You don’t trust Me.” That’s all He said.
Those words were as clear to me as if my wife, lying next to me, had said them. I knew it was God and I knew He was right. How true His words were. That’s why my mind was racing. I had no peace. We had been through hurricanes before and watched how He took care of us and our home. Why was I afraid now?
So I just decided to do what I had been taught. I confessed my fear. And then I chose to declare my trust in Him. But the thought process did not proceed like that. It proceeded as thus: “I know You’re right. I don’t trust You right now. But I know I can trust You. So, Lord, I confess I am afraid. But I choose to trust You right now.”
The next thing I knew, it was after 6am the next morning. The winds were still blowing, though not nearly as strong. We went outside and saw that tree limbs did come down. But none hit the four cars in the yard, nor our house. Many businesses and homes were badly damaged, but our home was not affected.
The question: Which view explains how I came to peace and slept soundly through the worst of that storm? I used to believe it was just a decision to trust. But now, as I read the ruler’s encounter with Jesus, I remember how the peace of God had already penetrated my soul as He spoke to me. His words at that moment enabled me to make the decision to just trust Him.
There are several other important occasions in my life in which I made the life giving decision to trust Him. In each of those times I can remember making that choice. Yet, in most cases I also remember the preceding conversation with God which resulted in the faith needed to make the decision He was leading and enabling me to make. In each of these cases I can remember being persuaded by the knowledge of His loving care for me and my family. How wonderful, how marvelous, how good and how loving is our God. I have learned that to trust God is to worship Him. Yes, songs of worship do come easily at such times. But worship is not singing a worship song. Those songs may be used by God to spark trust in Him. But once trust is in your heart towards God, you are worshiping Him, whether you sing a song or not.
I have learned that fear is also worship. You may be worshiping the wind and the waves as you fear them one moment. But then God speaks and you turn from nature worship to worship the God Who calms the storm in your heart so the wind and the waves no longer control your peace. I have learned not to allow fear to control my choices. I can do that by deciding what or Who I will worship. But when circumstances overwhelm me, I may need God to speak. I have also learned that God is faithful. When fear speaks so loud that I forget to turn to God, He will speak into the midst of fearful thoughts as He did for the disciples in the midst of the Sea of Galilee. And as He did for me while Opal was approaching.
VIEW 2
I also remember times which reveal that God honors the choice to trust Him without first hearing Him, even for those who do not believe they have ever heard God. God loves and honors faith directed toward Him, no matter how small. I believe that faith in God of every degree or any amount has its source in Him. Somehow, sometime, somewhere, the Spirit of God anointed a teaching, a preaching, a testimony, a song or a prayer and faith took root as a mustard seed and manifested in your heart at your time of need.
One such time occurred in my life in late spring 2006. Debby and I were living and ministering in Finland. We had not yet purchased a vehicle and were starting a trip on the last bus of the day to Lahti, where we lived. After we had been on the road a short while, I wondered why the driver was not choosing the turns I expected. As we started on a major route I noticed the destination signs were too unfamiliar. I went forward and the driver confirmed my concern. We were on the wrong bus. So I asked him to let us off at the next stop; which he did. The bus stop was right in the middle of a clover of exit and entrance ramps. No businesses or buildings of any sort were in sight. What were we to do? We didn’t know where we were, we didn’t speak Finnish and the bus we should have taken was the last bus of the day to Lahti.
Fear was on the edge of my awareness. But I remembered how faithful God had always been to us. So I made a decision to trust God. I started praying in the spirit expecting Him to show us what to do. A thought came into my head which I recognized as His voice. He wanted us to walk in a certain direction. As soon as I understood that He was speaking, peace came. We started walking and discovered a restaurant just a short distance over a low hill. There, one of the staff spoke English and made a phone call to the bus station to discover our bus had not left yet. A taxi was called and came quickly enough while the bus driver waited a few extra minutes. Here is one example of knowing I could trust God and simply deciding to do so. Then He spoke clear direction and we made our way home.
Faith for the Future
I have also learned that having frequent conversations with God, in which I wait for Him to talk to me about whatever He chooses, gives Him opportunity to prepare me ahead of time for what lies ahead. He may use that time to prepare me to walk in peace with Him through a coming storm. Or He may instruct me to speak to the storm to redirect its path or to limit its effects.
It doesn’t matter how you come to choose to trust God at such a moment. Simply choose to cast your care (fear) upon Him, for He cares (provides) for you (1 Peter 5:7). Then ask Him to direct your steps and do or say whatever you sense Him prompting you to do or say. God is faithful. Trusting Him (faith) empowers you to benefit from His faithfulness. So, trust Him in all situations, whether you hear His voice empowering your faith or you just decide to trust Him. He always loves you and is always with you. So, be blessed.
Faith Does What Fear Cannot
Hebrews 11:23 (NLT) It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
Faith does what fear cannot. Fear does what faith will not.
Pharaoh had warned the Hebrew midwives to drown all males they delivered. Fear would have caused Moses’ parents to allow him to be drowned. Faith enabled them to hide him for three months. Then God touched the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-10). The very child Pharaoh feared was raised in his home.
Hebrews 11:27 (NLT) It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.
Then it so happened that as Moses grew to manhood that he became fully aware of his Hebrew heritage. Having killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, Moses could have claimed royal privilege to sidestep justice. Fear would have moved Moses to submit to Pharaoh’s judgment in reverence to him as the king. Faith enabled him to leave the riches and privileges of the Egyptian court behind, though opulence was all he had known.
Hebrews 11:25 (NLT) He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Moses was choosing to trust the God of His people, though he had not yet heard God speak nor been persuaded by the experience of God’s love. Seemingly, Moses chose by faith alone. But is that the whole story? We have learned that God speaks in many ways. Yet, until we learn how He speaks to us, we may not be aware of His influence upon our choices. The enemy uses fear to move us to choose self protection or self promotion. God’s influence moves us to trust Him to protect us and/or be the source of our provision. Whether Moses was aware of it or not, God was the source of His faith, as He is for us, every time we choose to trust Him. Fear prevents you from resting in God’s love. It disables you. You can’t hear God clearly. And if you do hear Him calling, fear will tempt you to not trust His word. It prevents you from going with Him. But His love comes in the still of the night and quietly reminds us of His faithfulness and persuades us to believe. That’s faith working through love. It enables your ears to hear and empowers your heart to trust the word God speaks. It’s love that stirs faith to arise in our hearts and move us to obey. It’s God’s love for each one of us.