Do You Believe?

It seems to me we do a lot of talking about believing, but there is not a total commitment to our belief, and that is dangerous, especially for God called ministers. Ministers pray for God to move in our church fellowships, but how much do we believe will happen when we say that prayer? The question is "DO YOU BELIEVE?" Total belief is TOTAL belief, and what I mean by that is this "jump off the cliff" belief. There is a story about a man who fell off a 1000-foot cliff, but he had the presence of mind to grab a bush that was attached to the cliff wall. The bush was little by little giving way, and the man knew that his hope in the bush was soon going to be no hope.

To his amazement, a voice from above calmly yelled down, "Do you want to be saved?" The man screamed out, "Yes." Then the voice said, "This is Jesus. Do you believe in what I say to be true?" Desperately, the man yelled back, "I do!" Again, the voice said, "Do you believe?" The bush gave way a little more, and it was barely hanging on, so in desperation, the man said, "Yes, I totally believe in what you say. Just give me a command." There was a pause, and then the voice of Jesus said, "Just let go!" The man paused and thought it over, and then replied. "Is there anyone else up there?"

When God shows up, He usually does it at a time when we have no other options, and still some won't totally believe. Remember, He is God!!! That should make some difference in each case, but many times it doesn't. Look at what happened to one priest whom Luke wrote about in his gospel. Here is God's promise. Luke 1:¹¹ While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. ¹² Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. ¹³ But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. ¹⁴ You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. ¹⁶ And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” ¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Since Zechariah did not believe what the angel Gabriel told him, here is the result of that doubt: Zechariah spoke. Luke 1:¹⁹ Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! ²⁰ But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Not a good move for a man who was a priest. He should have responded, "Ok, I trust you, God, and I believe." But in some ways, he said, "Is there any other option up there?" God is not only an option; He is our best option, and we must believe without reservation or doubt.

Life is full of high cliffs and pitfalls, and we must rely on God only to help us because He can. When you approach belief like this, there is nothing you cannot handle in life, and that will translate and lead your church fellowship to believe also. The question is Do You Believe?" You just took a major step forward in your faith walk. Now keep on believing and keep on walking because Jesus is right there with you all along the way.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren