The Struggle with Belief

On my desk, in my home office, sits a frame containing a small shriveled piece of paper with the following handwritten verse.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

I was jogging through the woods the weekend after my dad passed away, and I found the above handwritten Bible verse on a crumbled sheet of paper, blowing down the path. The note was written on a piece of paper “from E.O. Ray II” on Coca-Cola Northern Africa letter head. I have no idea who E.O. Ray II is, and he has no idea how passing this verse on to me impacted my life. For me, this is a daily reminder to believe.

But, in my life at least, belief is evasive. Sure, it is easy to say the words “I believe,” but, as Adrian Rogers used to say, and I paraphrase, “if my life is examined on a daily basis, is there enough evidence to convict me as a believer?”

Belief was also evasive for those that followed Jesus 2,000 years ago.

At the end of Mark, he summarizes his book by emphasizing their unbelief. He says that after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, she ran to tell the others, and “they did not believe it.” In the next verse, Mark talks about Jesus appearing to two of them while they were walking in the country, and they reported it to the rest, but “they did not believe them either.” Later, Mark writes that Jesus “rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe.”

Those that walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Jesus throughout his ministry, after seeing the crucifixion and resurrection, still struggled with belief.

But, a few hung on to their belief. After Jesus goes to heaven, we find “a group numbering about a hundred and twenty” huddled together, praying constantly. Jesus had walked among the masses, fed the 5,000, and we see only about 120 truly believing. The struggle with belief was too great for most, so they dropped out, followed the masses.

So, how do the 120 believe?

The Bible is clear that belief is a “gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8,9). God gives the gift of belief. So, the question is not how they believed. The belief was a gift. The question is how did they maintain belief in the midst of a culture that just murdered Jesus? They were surrounded by people that vehemently disagreed with them. The Bible gives us a picture of how they continued to grow their faith.

The 120 knew, followed, and read the Bible. Without God’s Words in the Bible, they would have no compass, no direction, no clue on how to act. The believers knew nothing else to do but follow Scripture.

As the 120 are huddled in a room, Peter stands and says, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas.” He points them to the Bible.

Then, he quotes 2 verses from the Psalms (Psalm 69:25, 109:8).

Additionally, after receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, Peter speaking to 3,000+ people, shares the Bible (Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 110:1).

The belief of the 120 is laced with the Bible. The words from the Bible fueled their belief, gave them hope, gave them direction. Without the Bible, they would have had blind faith, but, because of God’s Words in Scripture, they could stand strong in their faith.

In fact, ending his sermon to the 3,000+, Peter says that because of the Bible, “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

So, that note that E.O. Ray II wrote, is more than just words on a page. These are the Words of God from the Bible that feed my belief.

Whenever my faith is waning, when my belief seems gone, when the world is pressing in, I open the one thing that reignites my soul. The one thing that feeds my faith. The same thing that those 120 believers used 2,000 years ago. The Bible.

The Bible changes me in my situation. The situation may remain the same, but His Words give me a different outlook on the situation.

The world is confusing. Truths are gray areas. The journey is littered with obstacles. Belief-rocking storms await. Cling to the Bible. It isn’t a book but the Words of God.

I encourage you today. Get alone with God and read His Word. He always has something to say to you.

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