“For the word of God will never fail.”
Luke 1:37
When I was in pre-school my dad once jokingly told me I had blue eyes. I have no idea what prompted him to say that at the time, but I am told when I came back from pre-school that day, I asked my dad to go talk to my classmates because they did not believe me when I said I had blue eyes.
Obviously my dad did not mean for his joke to go that far, and he probably didn’t even think I would internalize what he said as truth. After all, we had mirrors in the house, and I was old enough to know the colors. But in my innocent pre-schooler mind, I believed what my dad said about me even though the facts pointed against what he said.
I wish I could believe God all the time the same way I believed my dad. I’ve found that when God reveals something about my true identity as His child, the facts usually display an entirely different reality at first glance. I can identify with Gideon, when God called him a “mighty warrior” he was actually cowardly hiding from the Midianites. Gideon probably felt like anything but a mighty warrior! (Judges 6:11-15)
If you’re anything like Gideon or me, you probably struggle to believe and totally own what God is speaking over you in some areas of your life. Or when you finally believe what God said, the enemy makes sure to find people to remind you of the contrasting facts. At that point, it is up to you to decide who you are going to believe. Will you believe the facts and what the people in front of you are telling you, or will you believe what God is saying to you?
He says you are loved, forgiven, treasured, and free. He says you are a good mom, a loving wife, a kind daughter, and a true friend. He says you are able, brave, confident, and destined to bring Him glory. This is just a small sample, the Bible says God’s thoughts about you are precious and cannot be numbered (Psalms 139:17-18).
Unlike my dad’s silly joke, we can internalize everything God says as truth! We can confidently trust that even if we don’t see any evidence of what God is saying, He is working on making it a reality in our lives. And when others say anything contrary to that, instead of agreeing with them, we can ask our Heavenly Father to reveal to them what He sees in us and in them.
Your turn!
- What is God saying to you that you find hard to believe?
- What do you need to do to bridge the gap between who you are in Christ and your current reality?
- Who can help you in this journey?
