Fearless Faith: Believing God's Miracles

Think about what’s going on in your life right now. What troubles are surfacing? What difficulties are you faced with? As you think about these things, fill in the blank with your own word or phrase:

God is BIGGER than _________________________________________!

            Do you believe it? Do you believe that God is bigger than anything you are up against? Well, if you have even the slightest doubt, I believe our lesson on God's miracles will help you to see just how big our God is, and what He is capable of doing in each of our lives.

            At the conclusion of his famous gospel, the Apostle John said, "These are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God"... (John 20:31). John makes it clear: the miracles show us God. They reveal His power, His authority, and His majesty. They also show us just how BIG He is. With that before us, let’s observe two biblical miracles—one Old Testament miracle, and one New Testament miracle.

              Miracle #1: God stopping time (Joshua 10:1-14)!

              It seems this miracle is often lost in our recollection of God wonders. But that doesn’t make it least important or less significant. In fact, God making time stand still for a whole day is truly one of the greatest wonders He ever performed. Why? Well, simply because it shows us our God in His full range of strength and authority. 

              As I reflected upon this miracle this morning, I asked God to speak to my heart. I wrote what He said in my journal: “My Darling, I hold ALL power in My hands—power to release My people from bondage, power over the enemy, power to change a doubtful heart, power to transform a hardened heart, power to change circumstances. I am the POWERFUL ONE. And I love My people so much, I will fight for them. You do not need to worry, fret, lose hope, or wonder what tomorrow holds. I am there. And just like I made time stand still for one whole day, I can surely handle the difficulties or uncertainties you are facing.” Hearing these words sent my spirit into orbit. How about you?

              Miracle #2: Jesus walking on the water (Mark 6:45-51)!

              On this particular night, the disciples were up against some huge obstacles: darkness, a fierce storm, and fear. Some of the disciples were life-long fishermen. And the Sea of Galilee, known for its unexpected and violent storms, was the place they spent long days and nights working. They were used to sailing on this lake and, no doubt, had encountered many storms. Somehow though, I wonder if this one, on this night, was especially horrible—more ferocious than previous storms. John’s rendering of this story states: “A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough” (John 6:18). Then they saw Him - Jesus walking on the water! The disciples then welcomed Him into their boat and He calmed the storm. This story surely shows us the unlimited power of God.

              I'm wondering why it's difficult to believe that God can do anything, or turn any situation around in our lives as well. Why do we doubt His miracles? Why do we struggle believing this majestic character of God? Perhaps it's because we focus on the giants before us, instead of the BIG God we serve. I would like to encourage you to go back and ponder these two miracles and then fill in the blank again, but this time with greater certainty:

God is BIGGER than __________________________________________!  

Follow me for the next several weeks as we learn more about God's character and why we should believe. 

Fearless Faith: Believing God's Character

Everything has a starting point. God started with nothing before creating the world. Moses started with the message God gave to him at the burning bush (Exodus 3:7-9) before entering Pharaoh’s palace. The early church apostles began with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) before launching the church. And Paul started with the vision of Jesus (Acts 9:3-6) before spreading the gospel. Whatever road you and I are on also began somewhere with a starting point.

            For the believer to do greater things for God and to bring glory to the One who purchased their salvation, I believe it starts with our topic today. We must believe His character! However, before we can advance further, we need to observe the difference between knowing and believing. Sometimes as I talk to my husband, it seems he is not paying attention. I’ve been known to ask, “Are you listening to me?” He will then say “yes” while he proceeds to repeat what I just said. I then say, “Just because you heard me doesn’t mean you listened.” Do you see the difference?
 
           The same is true about knowing versus believing. Let me try and put it in simple terms. Knowing is head knowledge, believing is heart knowledge. Just knowing something does not change us. But believing engages our hearts. When our heart is engaged with belief, everything changes for us: our actions take on new life, our focus is redirected, and our own desires take a back seat. I remember the day my heart was awakened with belief. I grew up going to church and I heard the Bible stories time and again. Still, I wasn’t enjoying freedom in Christ. Then one day I heard the truth in a way that truly penetrated my heart. At that moment, my heart became alive with the truth. And that was the moment everything changed. I was never the same again.

Follow me for the next several weeks as we learn more about God's character and why we should believe.