BElieve Jesus

Years ago, my wife became friends with Jenna.* While LeAnn is a bit of an extrovert, I suspect Jenna would have made my wife her friend even if LeAnn were a recluse. Jenna's outgoing, talkative nature was drawn to pretty much everyone with working lungs, especially fellow young moms like my wife.

At the time, Jenna was newly married, but had been with her now-husband for several years. They had a child together, and their kiddo was close in age to our kids, so LeAnn and Jenna would get together for "playdates." During those conversations, Jenna discovered we were Christians. She had not grown up around faith or church, yet she was FILLED with spiritual questions, genuinely curious to know what LeAnn believed.

For months, Jenna and LeAnn conversed about God, love, the gospel, the Bible, and more. Eventually, Jenna said she believed much of what LeAnn shared about Jesus. But there was something still hindering her from becoming a Christian. Due to the deep hurts caused by her father and numerous men (including her husband), she struggled to truly believe God the Father loved her. In other words, she wasn't sure if she could fully trust God.

Belief = Trust

As the unsettling events of the betrayal, arrest, conviction, and execution of Jesus were rapidly approaching, Jesus told His disciples...

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1, ESV)

The Greek word the English Standard Version translates as "believe" can also be translated "trust." In John's mind, if you "believe" in Jesus, you will confidently trust Him, even when life seems uncertain.

Let me give you a practical example of what "belief" looks like. If you believe a chair can hold you, you display that belief by sitting on it. The very action of sitting shows you trust the chair to hold your weight. Likewise, it isn't enough to say the words, "I believe in Jesus." You have to actually trust Him with your very life.

So ask yourself: "Do I fully trust Jesus?"

Trusting Jesus means being willing to obey Him and not the rules of our culture (Romans 12:2) or the selfish desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:17). Believing in Jesus means attaching your identity more to Christ (Galatians 3:27-29) than to your politics, favorite sports team, hobby, or theological tribe. Having confidence in Jesus means being willing to let others know of your faith (without having to get really weird about it! (Colossians 4:5-6).

Trust is Hard

With that said, I will readily admit that some days it is really hard to BElieve Jesus. There are times when I want something I know God doesn't want for me (Romans 7:15-20). If you are human, you know what I am talking about. The struggle is real (Ephesians 6:12)!

But just because something is hard doesn't mean it is wrong. There are many times in life when the better choice is the harder choice. It's easy to eat junk food, but much harder (and better) to be disciplined about what you allow into your body. It's easy to sit on the couch watching Netflix, but it’s much harder (and better) to go to the gym. It's easy to surf the web, perusing certain images and videos, but it’s much harder (and better) to 'make a covenant with your eyes' (Job 31:1).

When Jesus calls you to trust and obey, He isn't trying to restrict you. Rather, He is offering to free you! (Galatians 5:1) The true slavery is giving into the temptation, remaining stuck in the sin that so easily entangles. (Hebrews 12:1) Rather, Jesus' death and resurrection were loving acts done to free you.

So again I ask: Will you fully trust Jesus and BElieve Him?

*Name changed