Here's something I'm sure is something only I have gone through. I mean, anyone that calls themself a Christian has never gone through this....
A wee bit of doubt.
Only me right? I'm the only one that questions all this bible stuff...I know we are told to let God 'help our unbelief' but let's be honest...This is just something I go through right? Right??
I jest and I'm sure any walk with God has brought up some head scratching moments, and it's almost like God knew that would come up:
Come now, and let us REASON together....God invites our questions. He wants us to have head scratching moments so that we keep going on the wonderful journey called sanctification.
And boy oh boy, did I have an ah ha moment tonight. I was reading one of my books and the author stated, and I'm paraphrasing...
"Pay close attention to John 17. Read it prayerfully!"
It's almost like the Holy Spirit told me to stop, and go read that chapter. As my arms are too short to box with God, I obliged. And wow, what a moment.
I came to John 17:17:
Did you catch that?
O.k., let me break down my latest 'ah ha moment' in scripture for ya :)
1. We all question our faith at times. It's human nature. We know that God will help our 'unbelief' (Mark 9:24) but we still battle.
But what does the book of Hebrews say...? Faith is the substance of things hoped for! The evidence of things not seen! O.K., so far so good...
2. We know the Christian journey goes through justification, sanctification and finally glorification. The sanctification part though, that's life long! That's the grind. That's the stuff that makes us followers of Christ and keeps us moving forward. But again, it's a grind!
3. And finally, the Holy Spirit impresses you to pick up that bible! And dig into the Word daily. We aren't to live by bread alone after all...And there's the 'moment' I had. Right there in the middle of John 17:17.
Sanctify them through thy truth, thy WORD is truth.....The method of sanctification can be found by diving into the word. Relying on Him! Picking up the bible, dusting off the cover and prayerfully letting God do His work of sanctification in you.
This realization has really helped me tonight, and I had to write this stuff down while it was fresh in my mind. Hopefully, when I'm feeling a bit 'down' or some unbelief creeps into my mind, I can remember this simple truth.
God encourages questions, He wants us to come to Him and rely on Him and his Word. If we remember that, the journey of sanctification is an immense blessing.
