What is the definition of the B Word?
You know - the definition of "Believe."
To Believe is " to accept something as true."
Ok, folks, with that in mind, read this short story:
"The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.
So the Lord said, 'I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created. . . for I regret that I have made them.'
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:5-8)
And read this:
(God said to Noah)
"Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark." (Genesis 6:17-18)
Are you getting the drift?
Noah did NOT end up like EVERYONE ELSE.
Why?
Because Noah believed God (he "walked faithfully with God"), and his faithfilled belief
that God would do what He said He would do
made a HUGE difference in his outcome.
But, hey, it didn't just happen that way for Noah. Abraham simply
believed that God would do what He said He would do,
and, as a result, God gave Abraham a credit of righteousness; and afterwards, God called Abraham "his friend."
(James 2:23)
Wouldn't you like a credit of righteousness from God?
Wouldn't that be cool if God called you "his friend?"
And then, there's the people who lived in Nineveh.
Those folks had become so evil that God planned to destroy all of them, but then they heard the prophet Jonah tell them God's dooming plans for their town.
They heard the Word of the Lord, and they immediately changed their ways. They became sorry for their sins and asked God for His mercy.
(Jonah, Chapters 3 & 4)
Why did that town do that?
The town of Nineveh did that because they, like Noah and Abraham,
believed God would do what He said He would do,
and here is the result of their belief:
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened."
(Jonah 3:10)
Are you getting this? Are WE getting this?
God may bring about horrors for sooooooo many others because they don't believe Him, but if YOU believe HIM, it can make a HUGE difference in YOUR life!
and . . .
God may bring about horrors for sooooooo many others because they don't believe Him, but if I believe HIM, it can make a HUGE difference in MY life!
The Bible tells us that the Lord "is the same yesterday, today and forever."
(Hebrews 13:8)
That means that Abraham and Noah and the town of Nineveh aren't any different in God's eyes than you and I are.
It means that if you and I choose to
believe that God will do what He says He will do,
that OUR lives can be transformed into vessels that prove to those around us that God "is real" and that "He rewards those who diligently seek Him."
How diligent do you and I want to be in searching through the Bible for all of God's promises and then believing that God will do what He says He will do?
As we live through life's challenges, if we will just continue to attend to the goal of believing that God will do what He says He will do, God WILL reward us.
Today, let's do ourselves a favor.
Let's just believe HIM!
