Persuaded

Jesus asked, 'Do you finally believe?' John 16:31 Written in my prayer journal is the simple question, "What will I believe today?" I don't remember what prompted me to write it, but it's a question we should hear from the Holy Spirit every day. What is it, in the midst of the day's challenges, heartaches, disappointments, and defeats, that I will believe? What will I believe about the Father? Is He Almighty, all knowing, filled with compassion, mercy, and love. That's what I've always said of Him. Now, today, when everything seems to suggest that He's none of these, what will I choose to believe? The same question is asked of me, and of you, about the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the truth of Scripture and His promises. I have come to see that none of us will really be able to say we believe until that belief has been tested in the fire. Jesus asked this question of His disciples after they had proclaimed their belief in Him. The key word in the question is "finally." They'd professed their belief and trust in Him before and He'd witnessed their wobbly faith. Their belief would soon be tested in the fire, the fire of Pentecost. They, the ones of wobbly faith, would emerge from the flames of the test with their belief in Him established. They could say, as Paul would eventually say, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He will keep that which I've committed unto Him." Are you and I persuaded? Has our belief in Him ever truly been tested? Has our faith really gone through the fire of adversity? It will be, and more than once. That's why the question about what we will believe today is so pertinent. Each day is a new day with new giants, mountains, and valleys containing the shadow of death awaiting us. We can't depend upon what we believed yesterday, but we can resolve that we will believe it is so today. Our tendency is to take He and His promises for granted, and this makes us vulnerable. We need to face the day with a Holy Spirit empowered resolve to once again, believe and trust Him. A resolve salted with Holy Spirit fire. Do we finally believe Him? The answer will be found in what we believe about Him today. Will what we believe stand the test of fire? Blessings, Pastor O