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Once when I was having a very tough time, God spoke something to my spirit that got me through it. It helped me see what happens when we believe in what He will do even in the difficult times.
He simply said to me, “I will help you through this day. Do you believe this?” Of course my immediate response was, “Yes! I believe.” It excited my spirit to think about God caring so much about us that He helps us through each day. But! More difficult issues came. So the exhilaration of the moment when God had spoken was gone.
Then in a quiet voice within me I heard Him again say, “Do you believe Me?” All throughout the day, every time it was difficult, there was God saying, “Do you believe Me?” Because I chose to believe that He would in fact get me through it, I experienced victory.
God wants to show us how to believe Him in difficult times. It takes us from limited believing to deeper believing. That’s when we can see all that He wants to do for us.
That’s what happened when the Lord took the woman, Martha, deeper in her believing. It produced what she needed. Martha and her siblings, Lazarus and Mary, were Jesus’ friends. So when Lazarus became ill, Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus to ask Him to come heal him. But Jesus didn’t make it to their town in time, so Lazarus died from the sickness.
When Jesus finally arrived, Martha went out to meet Him and from the first thing she said you could sense how she was disappointed. She said, If You had been here, my brother would not have died (John 11:21).
But the Lord was going to take her deeper in her believing. It was not too late. She had to be willing to believe for Him to help them even though circumstances now seemed more difficult than the healing of the sickness. He could go beyond what her limited believing thought He could do.
God wants to pull us out of our limited believing in what we think He will do. When we allow Him to take us into deeper believing, we can see the more difficult issues resolved.
This is what Martha had to do. Go from limited believing to deeper believing. So Jesus gave her the promise, Your brother shall rise again (John 11:23). But because she was still in her own way of thinking, she replied that she knew her brother would rise on the resurrection day. Then Jesus said, “You don’t understand. I am the resurrection and I am life. Whoever believes in Me shall live.” Then He asked her this important question, “Do you believe this?”
That’s really the question God gives us. He tells us what He’s able to do for us and then He says, “Do you believe this?” He wants us to go deeper in our believing.
So then Jesus went over to the tomb where they had put Lazarus, and He commanded them to take away the stone that was covering the mouth of the grave. When Martha protested because her brother had been dead for days and his body would have a bad odor, Jesus said, Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God (John 11:40)?
Martha decided to trust Him and so she allowed the people to push back the stone. What is she doing? Letting go of what is holding her to conventional believing. Our conventional believing has got to go! It’s too limited! So, the stone was rolled away and everyone present saw Jesus call for Lazarus to come out of that tomb and be made whole. And he walked out whole and healed.
If your circumstances seem to be dead and stinking, Jesus is speaking to your heart. You have to be willing to let the stone be moved. Trust Him. Cut with your conventional way of believing and go deeper than that. Allow Him to increase your willingness to believe and therefore receive.
You’re going from limited believing to deeper believing so you’re going to see the more difficult desires, problems, and challenges taken care of. All day, hear God saying to you, “Will you believe Me?”
A Spiritual Powerline to say out loud:
“I BELIEVE YOU, LORD!”
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