Will You Believe?

Last week, I had a moment with God where my only request was for a touch from Him.

I needed the kind of touch that would bring renewal to what had become depleted and worn out within me. My heart carried the weight of disappointment that was slowly but surely ebbing away at my zeal for Him, and I wanted it back.

I didn't have time to get caught up in how the moment felt because, if I'm honest, I can sometimes look to what I feel or sense in an encounter with Him as confirmation that He is actually doing something.

But in that moment, I pleaded with God to do within me what only He can do, whether I could sense it happening or not.

And honestly, I surprised myself with that request because I didn’t have it in me to remain uncertain about what I was asking God to do for me. I needed my innermost being to be revived, and having something I could feel or sense would have been reassuring in the moment. But I knew I couldn’t make my confidence in His work dependent on whether I could feel it or not.

As much as I was looking for Him to meet me in the place that I was, it was up to me whether I would be postured to actually receive it. It couldn't be about what would feel “right” in the moment. My focus had to be entirely dependent on Him.

And He met me with a simple question:

Will you believe?

As I reflected on that question, the story of the Roman Centurion whose faith amazed Jesus in Matthew 8 came to mind.

It is detailed how the Centurion earnestly sought the Lord for help for one of his servants. Not a single obstacle kept him from coming to Jesus because the matter was just too urgent.

And while the Lord was willing to go and heal his servant, something interesting happened instead.

The Centurion responded by saying, “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8b NLT)

Because as a man of authority himself, he understood what it meant to give a command and have it carried out. So knowing that Jesus operated at a greater level of authority than he did, the Centurion had confidence that Jesus could speak from anywhere and His word would accomplish what was needed.

The servant’s healing wasn’t dependent on anything other than the power and authority of Jesus. So the Centurion’s faith was simply his confidence that whether Jesus showed up physically or not, that His word would carry the same power.

Simply put, taking Jesus at His word was enough for him. His confidence wasn’t in the moment itself, but in the sovereignty of God.

And what Jesus was able to do wasn’t just possible for someone else. The Roman Centurion believed it was possible for his servant, too.

So the Lord gave the Centurion this response:

“Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8: 13 NKJV)

As you have believed. Because although the Centurion was making the request on behalf of his servant, his faith was personal.

Approaching God is not a matter of whether He is able, but of what we have settled in our hearts about His willingness to do it for us.

And I’ll admit, there have been moments when I’ve subtly questioned whether God would do certain things for me. The struggle can become so great at times that you find yourself believing He can do it for others, but not for me.

But in my own personal moment with the Lord, that very mindset was being challenged. I knew how to approach Him, but would I believe that He would do it for me?

It is no doubt a vulnerable thing to give people our trust, but Jesus is more than capable of meeting us beyond the highest heights our hopes can go. We don’t have to guard our hearts from Him in fear of those hopes letting us down.

And we see in the Lord’s response His willingness to honor our faith, but it requires us to be vulnerable enough to believe Him first.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5, NIV

So maybe you’re in a place right now where you’re asking God to do something within you or for you, but part of you is still waiting for a sign that He has heard you. Or maybe disappointment has made it difficult to believe that what you’ve seen Him do for others, He can also do for you.

I want to encourage you to take Him at His Word.

You don’t have to see it, feel it, or have a telltale sign that He is working before you choose to believe Him. The confirmation of what He has done will come through the fruit His work produces.

You can approach Him with a willingness to believe and allow Him to take care of the rest.

So my prayer for you today is that you would be free in your heart and mind to believe beyond what your circumstances may be giving you the courage to hope for. I pray that you won’t carry the mindset that He can do it for others, but not you. Instead, I pray that you would trust in His willingness to respond to your faith as you open your heart to Him.