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Perhaps you are unable to trust God because of what you think He is like.
"If God really were like our picture of him, then the doubt would be valid. But it is our picture of God, not God, that is at fault, and the doubt is fuelled solely by misunderstandings. Sometimes when I listen to people who say they have lost their faith, I am far less surprised than they expect. If their view of God is what they say, then it is only surprising that they did not reject it much earlier" (Os Guinness, 1996, God in the Dark).
The God of the Bible is someone who loves you deeply. If you love someone you want them to enjoy life.
Faith that moves mountains
"I tell you the truth, 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." - Jesus
So what is this faith?
When God asked Moses to throw his staff on the ground (Exodus 3 & 4) how do you think He would have responded to Moses if Moses said "Mountain! Move over there"? Do you think God would have been pleased? Of course not! Faith might mean moving a mountain if that is what God wants from you but if that is not what God wants commanding the mountain to move is an act of disobedience, not faith. Faith is not trying to get God to do what we want but doing what He wants. Sometimes God wants us to show our faith by trusting and obeying Him in the midst of suffering (Elisha had faith right up until the end of his life, he obeyed God, but look how he died. 2 Kings 13:14; see also Hebrews 11:32-38).
If you are following God to gain earthly treasures you are bound to run into trouble.
"That sir which serves and seeks for gain,
And follows but for form,
Will pack when it begins to rain,
And leave thee in the storm" -Shakespeare (King Lear)
If a person follows God for what they think they can get (e.g. improved relationships, material wealth) they are not following God but are instead attempting to use God for their own purposes. If this is your motivation you will not stand in the time of testing, you will turn your back on God (which is what sin is). The kind of faith Jesus spoke of can set you free from worldly worries.
Jesus said, '"The work of God is this: To believe in the one He sent"' (John 6:29). As already noted our beliefs change as we trust Jesus by doing what He asks of us. As we trust Him we find He is trustworthy. The more we believe He is trustworthy the easier it will be for us to obey Him. Changed beliefs lead to changed behaviour.
God is a friend who has everything in this universe under His control. He loves me and is taking care of me. If I truly believed this I would obey no matter how dire the situation looked. The key to "beginning to believe" in the Father as Jesus did is this: When ever I disobey I must acknowledge my unbelief which was the root cause of my sin, thank God that He is looking after me and then trust Him by doing what He wants. Sounds simple doesn't it? It is simple but true. God will transform your life if you begin to be serious about confessing the sin of unbelief (see 1 John 1:9) and placing your faith in Him.
But perhaps you are not sure exactly what it is God wants of you. Well I would begin by reading the words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament. Second, I would learn from wise teachers. That is why God gave us teachers. Third, get involved in ministry and mission so that you can discover your gifts (the gifts God has given you to further His Kingdom). How do you know what your gifts are? Listen to what people tell you when you are involved in ministry and mission and you will soon discover what God has obviously equipped you for. (For more on this very important subject see Decision Making and the Will of God by Greg Koukl).
That's the guts of what I have to say, but I have also found the following teachings helpful.
If we are to be true followers Jesus, God must become the object of our affection. This is the reason we obey. We obey not to get some earthly thing from God but to keep our minds focused on Him. (In Christ, we see God as He is.) Obedience, if it is simply an act of the will will lead to frustration, but if my mind is focused on pleasing Him and what it is I am gaining (a deeper relationship with Him and entry into His Kingdom), then I will be able to go on. The mind in love with God is a high ideal but only love for God, which has its foundation in His love for us, can set us free. The purpose of prayer, worship, study, obedience is to focus our minds on the one who loves us and in so doing be a blessing to others. When our minds are on Him we become little lights, pointing others to the true light. (For an in-depth look at this very important subject see The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.)
If we are following God to get what we want we will be disappointed. God will not be manipulated into giving us what we think is best because we do not know what is best (see prayer). His love is inexorable. As the song says, "nothing I can do can make Him love me more." But there is a paradox here, when we stop trying to manipulate Him a great deal of pressure comes off of our shoulders. This is because we are no longer wondering, "what am I doing wrong? Why aren't things turning out the way I thought they would?" But this doesn't change the fact that life is tough, which raises another question. How can we be expected to trust and obey God in the midst of temptation or suffering?
I'm sure we have all been in situations where we've thought, "I can't last another five minutes." How are we to trust God when life is so difficult?
First of all we must not forget that our goal is to keep our minds focused on God in Christ. Only as we do this will we trust God and be led by the Spirit. With that goal in mind what must we do right now?
Mother Teresa was once asked, "How is it possible to live a holy life?" She gave an answer which went something like this,
"Live a holy moment, live a holy minute, live a holy hour" and she continued with day, week, month, year and finished with "live a holy life."
The Christian faith is not a blind faith. We have more than enough reasons to trust God. Jesus loved us enough to die for us even when we wanted nothing to do with Him. (And He rose from the dead so that we can have life with Him. The historical evidence for the resurrection is very important.) We have good reasons to trust Him. But trusting can be tough. If we are to trust Him we have to focus not on tomorrow but on Him and on the present.
You see, when I'm faced with suffering or temptation thinking about the next five minutes is just too far into the future. I can't live then till then comes. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck in the moment. As often as I remember I need to focus on Him and ask, "What ought I do? What should I do? What is it that God would have me do right now?" If I act on what I know God wants from me, with the hope of coming closer to Him, I am living by faith.
There is a strange paradox here. The more I do what God asks of me the more I come to realize just how good He is and how imperfect I am, not because I am growing worse but because I am growing better. The more I obey Jesus, moment to moment, the softer my heart becomes. I am becoming braver and thinking more clearly but at the same time I'm becoming more child like. Jesus is making me what I've always wanted to be, a real man. He is making me like himself. I am becoming more trustworthy.
We must do the thing we must
Before the thing we may;
We are unfit for any trust
Till we can and do obey.
(George MacDonald, 1824-1905, taken from the poem, "Willie's Question")
Why should I expect anyone to trust me if I will not trust? The only way to truly understand that which God wants us to understand is to seek and obey Him. There is no other way.
"Men would understand; they do not care to obey. They try to understand where it is impossible they could understand except by obeying" (George MacDonald).
Perhaps you understand that God wants you to focus your attention on Him and how good He is but you are still not sure of exactly what it is God wants you to do. If that is how you feel the following should help. It is taken from the poem "Willie's Question," which was quoted above. Willie (a young boy) asks his dad what he must do to become a great man. His father's answer does not seem clear to him so his dad spells it out and in the process opens his eyes to what it is God wants from him.
Willie speaks.
Then how am I to be great?
I know no other way;
It would be folly to sit and wait,
I must up and do you say!
The Father answers.
I do not want you to wait,
For few before they die
Have got so far as begin to be great,
The lesson is so high.
I will tell you the only plan
To climb and not to fall:
He who would rise and be greater than
He is, must be servant of all.
Turn it each way in your mind,
Try every other plan,
You may think yourself great, but at length you'll find
You are not even a man.
Climb to the top of the trees,
Climb to the top of the hill,
Get up on the crown of the sky if you please,
You’ll be a small creature still.
Be admiral, poet or king,
Let praises fill both your ears,
Your soul will be but a windmill thing
Blown round by its hopes and fears.
Willie speaks.
Then put me in the way,
For you, Papa, are a man:
What thing shall I do this very day?
Only be sure I can.
I want to know - I am willing,
Let me at least have a chance!
Shall I give the monkey-boy my shilling?
I want to serve at once.
The Father answers.
Give all your shillings you might
And hurt your brothers the more;
He only can serve his fellows aright
Who goes in at the little door.
We must do the thing we must
Before the thing we may;
We are unfit for any trust
Till we can and do obey.
Willie speaks.
I will try more and more;
I have nothing now to ask;
Obedience I know is the little door:
Now set me some hard task.
The Father answers.
No, Willie; the Father of all,
Teacher and master high,
Has set your task beyond recall,
Nothing can set it by.
Willie speaks.
What is it, father dear,
That he would have me do?
I’d ask himself, but he’s not near,
And so I must ask you!
The Father answers.
Me 'tis no use to ask,
I too am one of his boys!
But he tells each boy his own plain task:
Listen, and hear his voice.
Willie speaks.
Father, I'm listening so
To hear him if I may!
His voice must either be very low,
Or very far away!
The Father answers.
It is neither hard to hear,
Nor hard to understand;
It is very low, but very near,
A still, small, strong command.
Willie answers.
I do not hear it at all;
I am only hearing you!
The Father speaks.
Think: is there nothing, great or small,
You ought to go and do?
Willie answers.
Let me think - I ought to feed
My rabbits. I went away
In such a hurry this morning! Indeed
They've not had enough today!
The Father speaks.
That is his whisper low!
That is his very word!
You had only to stop and listen, and so
Very plainly you heard!
That duty's the little door:
You must open it and go in;
There is nothing else to do before,
There is nowhere else to begin.
Willie speaks.
But that's so easily done!
It's such a trifling affair!
So nearly over as soon as begun,
For that he can hardly care!
The Father answers.
You are turning from his call
If you let that duty wait;
You would not think any duty small
If you yourself were great…. (George MacDonald 1824-1905, "Willie's Question")
"Think: is there nothing, great or small, You ought to go and do?"
Perhaps you call yourself a Christian and you do not like what I've just written. If so you should ask yourself, "Why did I decide to follow Jesus? If you decided to follow Him because you were told that Jesus can make your life better then I strongly recommend that you watch The Motive of the Sinner before you become disillusioned with Christianity. Jesus didn't die to make everything comfortable; He died to bring you into a relationship with God and set you free from your sins (Matt 1:21). If you think Jesus died to make life comfortable you will be disappointed when things don't work out the way you want them to. (Note: If you simply try to keep the law you will become frustrated and disillusioned. This is where many sincere people run into trouble. Without God we can do nothing. If you are sincere, please make a special effort to read chapter 5 of Dallas Willard's book The Divine Conspiracy. If all of my books were destroyed, The Divine Conspiracy would be the first book that I would replace.)
If you understand what Jesus did for you you will not be able to do enough for him, gratitude will be the motivating factor of your life; rather than angrily demanding things from God you will be saying to Him, even in the toughest circumstances, "What can I do for you?"
Faith is active trust which is made possible by a grateful heart.
Faith is never passive; it requires an act of the will. Jesus says "don't worry" so we exercise trust by not worrying. He tells us to pray so we exercise trust by praying. If you do not do what someone wants you to do you are not actively trusting them. The first thing we should be doing is seeking God's will and then actively obeying Him where his commands are plain.
(Note: Some may be worried about the dangers of obedience; after all don't suicide bombers do what they do because of obedience? Suicide bombers are only able to do what they do because they have learnt to ignore the inner voice called conscience. Never go against your conscience. If you go against your conscience you will be going against God who gave you your conscience. There is no danger in obeying Jesus; He is trustworthy (See disobey for more on conscience and also the end note).)
When we trust God by doing what He says we will come closer to Him.
If we obey Jesus we will come to a deeper understanding of God and know Him in our hearts (John 7:17). There is no other way in which a deep relationship with God can be developed. There is no other way that God can be known. Even if God were to appear to someone they still would not know Him. Seeing someone with your eyes is not the same as knowing them (See Jer 29:13).
Deciding to follow Jesus is only the first act of obedience; it is merely an introduction to the Saviour. Responding to God out of gratitude is an act of obedience which enables us to come closer to God. The closer we come to God the more we will understand and know Him.
Knowing God means understanding how He thinks and feels about things; knowing God means understanding what He likes and dislikes. If you understand what I think about things and what I like and what I don't like you know me; if you understand that better than anyone else you know me better than anyone else. We should obey God because of what He has done for us and to know (understand) Him better. Knowing God is salvation.
Unfortunately, some act as though knowing God and knowing the Bible are the same thing (see John 5:39, 40). Knowing the Bible is important (I use the following) but it is not the same as knowing God.
Once we have read what God is like in the New Testament we can the most useful knowledge about God through obedience; if we seek to understand God with our heads before doing that which He plainly asks us to do we will build error upon error.
Unfortunately, disobedience has led to the development of many false doctrines (sometimes the sin is very subtle); often the founders of such doctrines are very intelligent and put forward what seem to be strong arguments. (Satan takes pleasure in deceiving those who call themselves Christians.) Unfortunately many good people follow these doctrines because they think they are from God but really they are just doctrines invented by men.
When we follow false teachers people think God is either stupid or evil. When we do things that God does not ask us to do people say things like, "How can God be good if He asks people to do that?" (e.g. the crusades). As someone once said, there are 5 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Christian. People mock the one true God when we believe false teachers.
Be careful not to misunderstand me regarding knowledge. Knowledge is very important; head knowledge has its place. We are warned time and time again in the Bible:
"How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?" (Proverbs 1:22)
"
Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15).
my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children (Hosea 4:6).
There are many good reasons why we can trust the Bible. But reading the Bible alone should not determine what doctrines we accept. Doctrine must be born out of obedience. (If we obey God we will develop a deep relationship with Him and He will guide us into the truth regarding what we should believe.)
I will diverge from faith for a moment because it is important to know that the Christian world view is more reliable and intellectually satisfying and than any other.
If you do decide to look at the evidence for Christianity keep the following in mind.
Looking at only one piece of evidence is a bit like looking at only one piece of jig-saw puzzle, how are you to make out the picture by looking at only one piece? (And how do you know that the person providing that piece of evidence has not ignored the evidence she does not like? Many television shows attack the Bible by only showing evidence which seems to prove the Bible false, if they provided the best evidence for and against the the Bible you would get a completely different picture.) You could make a decision based on one piece of evidence in a court case, and it may be a right one, but only a fool would ignore the other pieces of evidence simply because he had made up his mind. (Jesus disciples were willing to die for him based on one piece of evidence. They were willing to die because He rose from the dead. They had seen many other pieces of evidence but that decided the issue for them. The disciples had witnessed Jesus fulfilled prophecies, flawless words, love and miracles but it was only when they saw, touched, talked and ate with him after he rose from the dead that they were thoroughly convinced that he was the rightful King and ruler of this world.) Typically, those who reject Christianity, because they claim to have looked at the evidence, reject Christianity because of that which they have not looked at rather than on what they have. Those who have not looked at each of the pieces in the puzzle have no idea how strong the case for the Christian world view is and have no basis for making a judgement on this issue. (The weakest argument for Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus. This is what you should attack if you wish to disprove Christianity. Without the resurrection of Jesus there is no Christianity. It seems the best explanation given the fact that Christianity was an illegal religion, that it spread so rapidly (Christians were persecuted by Nero in Rome in the 60s) and that Christian leaders had nothing to gain by proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead.)
The skeptic has one of two choices, either she investigates the evidence and follows it wherever it leads or she ignores the evidence and accepts superstitious beliefs about God and this world. (Atheism will prove to be the greatest of all superstitions when God judges the living and the dead.)
Here are some of the pieces in the puzzle which make the case for the Christian worldview.*
Time for Truth by Os Guinness (Watch on-line)
Moral Relativism (watch on-line) and The Myth of Moral Neutrality by Greg Koukl
Unlocking the Mystery of Life; The Privileged Planet and Icons of Evolution see on-line).
Thinking Clearly by Greg Koukl (download)
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas
The Resurrection Factor by Josh McDowell.
The Books the Church Suppressed by Michael Green
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig L. Blomberg
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
What we can't not know by J. Budziszewski
Responding to Relativism by Beckwith and Koukl
The Meaning of Meaning by Dr Michael Bauman
Secularism and the Illusion of Neutrality by Ravi Zacharias
What if Jesus had never been born? by James Kennedy
Legislating Morality (politically relevant)
My Grace is Sufficient for you (experientially relevant)
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. (This book shows that the Christian life can be lived. Pay particular attention to Chapter 5)
People exercise faith every day and they exercise it on the basis of the knowledge they have. When a person hops on an aeroplane they exercise faith; they have "evidence" to believe flying is safe so they trust the plane and the pilot. What about the disciple Thomas, did he have to exercise faith after he saw and touched Jesus? Of course! After Jesus ascended to Heaven Thomas still had to trust Him by doing what He asked even when life was tough and nothing seemed to make sense (e.g. when James was killed by Herod). He trusted Jesus because he knew Jesus was who He claimed to be. He trusted Jesus because he knew He was trustworthy. Because Thomas and the disciples trusted Him after His resurrection they came to know Him better than they did before his death. After the disciples saw Jesus they lived by faith not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
The person who lives by sight is governed by the feelings they have in the circumstances in which they find themselves. In other words, they change their behaviour according to what they can sense (i.e. what they feel, see or hear which inturn influences their thinking).
People who live by faith obey God no matter what is happening or how they feel because they know that Jesus is who the New Testament claims He is and they know He loves them (He died for them). They know that He can be trusted no matter what is happening to them or those around them.
Christians who govern their lives according to their spiritual experiences place themselves in a very vulnerable position. Our experiences are important to each of us but truth must precede experience, not the other way around. (See From Truth to Experience by Greg Koukl). Their are spiritual forces who take great pleasure in deceiving Christians and will gladly give people spiritual experiences which seem overwhelming. Don't be governed by feelings.
Remember the words of Morpheus to Neo in the movie the Matrix:
Morpheus: "What is real. How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
A nobel prize winner pointed out that "The brain is a machine that a ghost can operate."
If we place experience before truth we make ourselves vulnerable to deceptive spiritual forces. If it is an experience which determines how you behave you are living by sight not by faith.
Paul and the apostles lived by faith because of the knowledge they had. They lived by faith because they knew for certain that Jesus rose from the dead. Before Jesus resurrection they lived by sight, they were afraid and they let their fear govern them. After Jesus resurrection they exercised trust in what they knew to be true. Faith and knowledge go hand in hand. ('If there is "no reason why" for faith, the time may come when there is "no reason why not" for doubt' (Os Guinness, 1996, God in the Dark).You can only be deceived into believing something about God which is false if you lack knowledge about God. [1])
It is good to know that the Bible is trustworthy. It is good to know that Christianity is logically consistent, empirically verifiable and experientially relevant; but none of those things can make us trust God; they only tell us that we ought to trust God. If we want to come close to God we will have to exercise trust in Him on a day to day basis. Head knowledge is important, but it is more important to know God in our hearts.
'This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
"but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD" (Jer 9:23, 24).
Does the thing you are facing seem overwhelming and you are still not sure what to do? Remember what Jesus has done for you, don't worry, pray and do the little things you know God wants you to do (see James 4:17). It will take time but "understanding will follow". We will be tempted to take matters into our own hands during the tough times. Don't panic, be still and know who is in control (see Psalm 46:10).
Trust and obey, don't wait until you understand (see Proverbs 3:5,6). If you wait till you understand you won't do anything. Don't make excuses when it comes to doing what Jesus asks. If you wait until you can obey before you begin to obey you will never do anything.
Don't wait until you can obey perfectly before you attempt to obey. God will bring us to the point where we obey perfectly, but no matter how close we may come in this life none of us will become like Christ in this lifetime. The process will not be finished until after death. When trying to obey you will slip up many times along the way. but the only failure is when you believe that He won't forgive you and you don't turn back to Him.
Learning to do God's will is a little bit like a child learning how to walk and talk. How does a child learn how to walk? By trying to walk. How does a child learn how to talk? By listening to others and trying to talk. We learn to obey by obeying. Yes, we will slip up and fall over but we must trust God by trying to do what He asks even when nothing seems to make sense, only then will we learn how to trust and rise to greater heights. When times are tough don't wait till things make sense before doing what you know God asks of you.
During the tough times you won't be able to think clearly; you will be tired, confused and vulnerable to temptations you never thought you'd have. You will only have peace in your heart if you actively trust God by doing what He says.
Faith in God is real power; it gives us peace and enables us to do what we know we should do no matter what is happening around us. Put Jesus words into practice and the God of peace will be with you.
The kind of faith that can move mountains comes as we "listen and hear" God's voice and then do what we know in our hearts we ought to do even when nothing seems to make sense.
(Note: Some assume that faith itself is enough, as if it doesn't matter what you put your faith in as long as you have faith. Does it matter if you put your faith in Hitler or Hugh Hefner? Will it make a difference if you put your faith in Jesus or Allah? Many claim to put their faith in themselves; as I once did. If you put your faith in yourself you will be governed by what you can sense; Like Willie you will be blown round by your "hopes and fears". You will appear strong during the good times and you may think yourself strong, but you will find out how weak you are when the tough times come. If you trust in your own strength believing what ever you want to believe, then you will find out that the philosophies and ideologies of this world cannot satisfy the longings of your heart. I used to wish that someone told me about Jesus before I went through the things I went through, but now I know, God had to show me what was in my own heart so that I would trust Him and not myself.)
End Note: Some might think that if Jesus is obeyed when nothing
seems to make sense then atrocities in God's name will be committed; obviously
those who think that have never read the New Testament. Jesus never asks anyone
to go against their conscience. Our conscience is from God, if we go against it
we will be going against God. It is Satan who wants people to go against their
conscience. Many of the things which happened during the crusades happened
precisely because the vast majority of people in
*It should be noted that whilst knowledge is important, knowledge has some serious limitations when it comes to witnessing.
Evangelism is important, but more emphasis needs to be placed on character. Jesus said that if we follow Him He will make us fishers of men (see Matt 4:19). I am not saying that the message and methodology is not important (see The Way of the Master). What I am saying is this, the best way to make disciples is to first begin by being one. Jesus told us to make disciples, which is more than getting someone to make a decision. (see Matt 28:19,20).
It is important for people to know why they believe what they believe, therefore the evidence has a limited, though important part, in evangelism.
The moral law, intelligent design and evidence for Jesus ressurrection are all useful arguments for the person who is interested in investigating Christianity, but don't bother giving them that evidence if they are not willing to change when they discover that Jesus is who the New Testament claims he is. It is worth challenging people, "Would you change your life and follow Jesus if you discovered that he is who the New Testament claims he is?" If they answer yes then they are in a position to look at the evidence. If people are not willing to change, don't bother giving them evidence, you'll be casting your pearls before swine.
It is important to begin where a person is at.
If we are having a casual conversation with someone and they make a foolish statement like "all religions lead to God" or "that's true for you but not for me" then I would challenge them using the methods in