16 Feb When We Forget to Believe

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere human beings? 1 Corinthians 3: 2-3 NIV

Do you ever feel like your spiritual growth has stagnated, or that you are no longer exuding the light and salt that Jesus called us to show the world? Paul wrote the above words to the Corinthians because of internal arguing between those following Paul’s teachings and those following Apollo’s, but I’d like to focus on the behaviour that Paul was calling out rather than the subject matter causing the quarrelling. Worldly behaviour is of course not limited to jealousy and quarrelling but takes many forms; materialism, substance abuse, lack of generosity, lack of intimacy with God, using bad language, but these are just a few examples.

Our church is currently doing a series on identity, and I was struck by one thing our pastor said, which is that we can not change our behaviour if our belief is wrong. It made me think of times when I have struggled behaviourally or have felt like I am going backwards in my walk with Jesus. I realise that every time this has happened, there was something wrong with my faith; I was not believing God for something, or I was forgetting to believe. This is why daily fellowship with God is so important, because we need to constantly be reminded that He is our father, and He is a good father at that, beyond all measure. We therefore have no reason to doubt His promises.

Often the things we have forgotten to believe, are not immediately apparent, and if anyone suggested the unbelief to us, we would probably deny it. But sometimes incorrect belief is so rooted in our nature, that even years after being saved it can appear out of nowhere without us realising it. What are examples of things we forget to believe?

1. God is enough

Our very own saviour was challenged in this regard when he wondered around the desert for 40 days and was tempted by the devil to turn stone into bread, to which Jesus answered, “It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone.’” Luke 4: 4 NIV.

What an amazing demonstration of living by the Word of God and how blessed we are that we can lean on the strength of Jesus to face our own struggles. Most of us possess this knowledge in our heads, but sometimes when the struggles and distractions of life take hold, our hearts fail to remember it.

Before I was saved, the better part of my teens and twenties were spent binge-drinking at parties and nightclubs. When I gave my life to Jesus and experienced a new way of living which brought me a sense of true freedom and authenticity, it was easy for me to see the extent to which my past behaviour was destructive. The thought of returning to my previous way of living was inconceivable.

Yet a few years later, as I was sitting with my 9-month old daughter on the beach, two inebriated young women came up to us to dote on her. I managed to have a brief conversation with them, and while afterward I mostly felt a need to pray for them, I was struck by a realisation that a small part of me – to my shame – missed the days when I was younger and spent afternoons in a similar manner. Motherhood is a wonderful gift, but working full time while raising a child can be intense, and carefree days are definitely a thing of the past. I also find it more difficult to find quiet time to fellowship with God. This encounter with the young women was certainly timeous as I was probably at my most vulnerable, and while it was only for a moment that I experienced the strange fondness for my past, the fact that I did experience it, concerned me.

We all have strongholds either from our past or ones that today are a constant struggle. Not all of them are obvious like substance abuse. Some of them are more subtle strongholds, such as work, relationships, body image, and even comfort eating. What they all have in common is that they are reflections of our deeper sinful nature and were we to follow the desire driving them, we would find ourselves slipping into a more worldly way of living, and one that would become more and more distant from God.

Despite the great risk of this, we can still be tempted and the fact that we can even consider returning to our strongholds shows just how similar we are to the Israelites. When the Israelites were faced with entering Canaan and encountering the inhabitants, they began speaking of returning to Egypt; they wanted to choose slavery over facing the potential troubles that lay ahead. Similarly, when we face troubles in our lives, or times that are more stressful or busier than others, is that not when the enemy comes to tempt us? And how often does the thought occur to us that maybe our lives would be easier if we could just return to our strongholds to cope?

When that happens, we are forgetting that God’s promises are greater than anything our worldly strongholds can offer.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30 NIV.

While the original audience for these comforting words were Jews burdened by the exaggerated demands of the law imposed by the Pharisees, we might also liken heavy burdens to our own personal strongholds. The thing about strongholds is that while they may seemingly offer a solution that will answer our immediate desires and bring some sort of relief, this relief is temporary and leaves us enslaved, often leading to destructive consequences.

We need to mend this incorrect belief that we need the worldly coping mechanism and remember that Jesus is the well of life that is everlasting, and He will never depart from us or lead us to destruction.

2. God loves me

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 NIV

It is the belief in this overwhelming love and grace that first brought us into God’s fold. The problem is, we often don’t live out that love and grace towards others despite our gratitude for having received it from the One Most High. And so we become like the unforgiving servant in the parable Jesus told in Matthew 18: 21 – 35. What is it that drove this servant to be so immediately merciless despite the mercy he had just received, and similarly, what is it that makes it difficult for us to practise forgiveness, love, and grace towards others though we’ve received such forgiveness, love and grace from God? Is it because we forget about this mercy? Or does it go deeper?

When we look at the most destructive behaviours in everyday relationships, at the heart of it often lies offense, or jealousy, that drives people to act in passive aggressive or nasty ways toward one another. But what should offend us if we are loved by God so much that He was willing to die for us? What do we have to be jealous of if God loved us so much that He made us heirs alongside His son?

Often our most toxic reactions stem from a deep-seated belief in our unworthiness, and when someone else touches on a particular flaw, our pride spurs us to react in anger. In these incidences, we need to remember Psalm 139, “…For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139: 13-16 NIV

The nature of God’s love is one that no other human can replace. Not only are our sins covered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but so are the world’s. Added to this, God loves us enough to seek us and save us, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV. When we remember how much God loves us and how He has chosen us in spite of our flaws and weaknesses, what the world says about us should not matter, and we can begin to change our reactions to opponents resting easy in this knowledge.

3. God is in control

How do you look at your future? Is it filled with hope and expectation, or is there an undercurrent of fear and trepidation? We live in a beautiful country that seems to constantly be walking an unstable rope between collapse and restoration, and this has driven many to make the decision to leave for a more stable future overseas. Some have been called, others have left with an escape mindset. For those of us who remain, the constant onslaught of negative news and loadshedding, may often lead to us despairing, losing patience, and acting out from a negative place.

But even in our personal circumstances, we may slip into behaviour inspired by fear. We often see this play out in romantic relationships; the partner who feels insecure and fears the other one leaving, will act out in destructive ways to try and force a wrong relationship to work, for fear of ending up alone.
These are examples of fear-based behaviours, and ones where we have forgotten God’s promises.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

While this verse is not about a prosperous life without troubles, it points to the promise of God’s eternal plan for us. Having an eternal view of God’s plans will help us to remember our ultimate purpose and that God has placed us where we are because He uses us to fulfil his plans.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50: 20 NIV

Joseph was addressing his brothers who had betrayed him and sold him into slavery. Despite the hardships he faced, he recognized that God used those circumstances to position him in Egypt so that he could save many lives during a severe famine.

It should therefore be comforting to us that not only is God in control, but that He will bring good out of every trial that we suffer, every loss that we experience, and therefore we have no reason to fear the present or future, because it is all for His perfect plan and we have assurance of an eternal life free from all adversity.

Father God, I thank you for your love for me. I thank you that you have called me to yourself through your Son, Jesus Christ, and that I have no reason to fear any of my life’s circumstances. Please help me to remember that you sustain me, that you love me, and that you are in control. Amen.

Angela Chiaberta

I am a volunteer blogger with a passion for God and writing. My hope is to help others choose faith – or to walk deeper in their faith – through my own introspections and observations.