Persuaded

 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.  2 Timothy 1:12...."Belief is a truth held in the mind. Faith is a fire in the heart." Chris Tiegreen....."It was not what Abraham believed but who Abraham believed that truly counted." A.W. Tozer

It's very important that we believe Scripture, the correct doctrine, and all other things pertaining to true faith. However, all of these beliefs can be held in our mind yet do nothing to inflame our heart. We may place Scripture promises on our wall, write them in our journal, and have them everywhere about us, living in total agreement with them, yet still miss what He intends for us to have. 

I spent four years preparing for the ministry. I believed in the God that led me out to Colorado to prepare for that ministry. After graduation, I spent five years proclaiming His gospel message, also believing that which I proclaimed. Along the way, much of what I learned, believed, and proclaimed was tested, and my belief also became my personal experience and possession. Then, in August of 1989, my world collapsed, along with my marriage and ministry. Now, my great challenge would be, would all that I had been preaching and believing to this point be held onto by me as I walked through this deep darkness? Would my belief become more than words in a Bible and notes in a sermon? He was about to take me from a firm belief in a truth held in my mind, to a fire that burned in my heart. My belief and my faith would be melded together. This would happen because I would come to "know" Him in deeper ways then I had ever thought possible. So deep that in the midst of the darkness and beyond, I could say, "For I KNOW Whom I've believed, and am PERSUADED....."

This is the goal of belief and faith, that we come to know, personally and intimately, the God we believe in. Someone once said that the Pharisees didn't recognize Jesus the Messiah when He came among them because "they didn't believe the God they said they believed in." They didn't know Him and so they didn't see Him. I can think of no more tragic way for a professing believer to go through life than to be unable to recognize the God they say they follow. Where might that be happening in your life today? Where has your belief in Him fallen short of becoming a fire, kindled by experience and knowledge, in your heart?

If He has allowed you to come to the place in your life where you too are being tested in your beliefs, don't run from it. The darkness and pain of the place will be real. He will be more real....if you hold to Him and allow Him to draw you more deeply into Himself. You will come out of it all, and you too will be able to proclaim with Paul, "I KNOW Whom I've believed, and I'm PERSUADED....."

Blessings,
Pastor O