Dare to naively believe

“She told me to drop by if I needed any help,” the young girl told the man who had answered the door.  “I could use some help right now, if she’s available,” she continued.  The man looked surprised, and asked her to wait as he walked off to speak to his wife.  The girl could hear the conversation in the back room as his wife exasperatedly explained, “I didn’t really expect her to show up at our door, I was just trying to be nice!  Tell her I’m busy, okay?”  Dejectedly the girl slipped away without a word, embarrassed that she had been so naïve.  She determined that next time she wouldn’t trust anyone’s word so freely.

Human nature is changeable, fickle, unfair. We’re changeable because we’re limited.  We have little control over our own lives, and virtually none over events that unfold around us.  Stuff happens beyond our control, and adapting to change is essential.  We have friends and loved ones who we count on, but even so, it’s a given that no one’s perfect.  We’ve even developed a lackadaisical attitude towards our own promises, just saying niceties that we never really plan on carrying out.  But not God.

We have never known anyone as stable and reliable as God.  And because we can’t wrap our heads around His faithfulness, we struggle to really trust Him as we should.  We’re gun-shy.  We’ve been disappointed by life, and we’ve disappointed others too many times. We can believe in an impossible miracle when we read God’s promises, but then over a period of time start to worry that we naively raised false hopes.  When the answer isn’t quick to come, we assume that God probably didn’t really mean what He said, that He wishes we’d just leave Him alone about that request.  We can even feel embarrassed to speak to Him again as if we had overstepped our boundaries to believe in Him so literally.  We reduce Him to the level of a petty insincere human.  He’s nothing like us, He’s everything good.  

Our fleshly sinful nature makes us small-minded.  No one trusts God like they should, not even the strongest Christian.  But God calls us to step out of our boat onto the water and start trusting Him against our fears, because when He promises something, He means it.  The answer may take time, the wait may force us to mature, to cry out to Him more, but it is impossible for Him to take back what He says. 

Maybe you’ve been fighting in faith for a specific answer to prayer.  Maybe it’s taking a lot longer than you thought, and doubts are starting to creep in.  Look again at the promises of God that sparked your faith in the first place.  Was God just being nice, to give you a warm fuzzy feeling when you heard His word?  Is He a petty human like we are?  Does He mean what He says?  Is He steadfast and true? Remember that He loves us with an intensity and fervor, much more that we could ever love our own children.  It’s His joy to see us blessed.  His promises are meant for us to hold onto through thick and thin.  His requirements are always, obey, trust, and persevere.  So if you’re afraid He’s forgotten about you or changed His mind, He understands our weaknesses and doesn’t condemn us for it.  Just step back out onto the water again and start actively trusting.   Expectantly watch and wait for His answer.  Raise your hopes.  Dare to naively believe as a child. He wants to bless you and He will. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no change or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.  (James 1:17-18 MEV)