Monday, July 24, 2017

Believing, You Shall Receive

Matthew 21: 22

And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

God has created this Universe and put His order into it. He has made this Earth and put it in its place among the other planets and suns, in the perfect place to sustain life. And He has made us of this Earth and put us here so we can live and have everything we need. And God decided to give Mankind the prerogatives of free will, to choose. And He has built into this system of life the principle of faith. 

We choose to believe so much in living every day: that the sun will come up, that our job is still there waiting for us to show up, and that we will get a check on payday; that our spouse is faithful to us, or we suspect otherwise; that our children will or will not make right choices in their lives; we even have faith to believe that the chair we sat down in will hold our weight without collapsing. 

We trust other drivers to stay in their lanes as we stay in our lane, and to signal when they will change lanes. We trust that people will stop at their red light as we proceed with our green light. 

We trust that the food we order at the restaurant will nourish our bodies without poisoning us. We trust other people to be as honest with us as we are with them. Our faith, belief and trust guide our every decision every day, in all that we do. 

God has built this principle of Faith into our lives in order that we would put our faith in Him--to trust Him to be faithful to us, to believe that He will do exactly what He has said He will do. Because He has. 

And He has told us that if we delight in Him that He will put His desires for us into our hearts (Psalm 37:4), and then when we ask Him for what He wants for us, He delights to give it to us! 

We delight in Him and He delights in us, a happy circle, a joyful upward spiral.

This is the life He wants for us, trusting in God to have sent His Son Jesus to take our place in death so that we can be forgiven and cleansed and be His children, so He can lavish His love on us. And answer all our prayers, even those unspoken, because He hears our thoughts.

So, dear reader, delight yourself in our Lord, believe what He has said to us, and live that life of faith that lets you ask what you will, believing, and receive all the blessings our Father delights in showering on us.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!