Believe to See: How to strengthen your faith in God
Hello there!
Have you ever been to a magic show or seen an illusionist? When I was quite young, I remember seeing a magician on TV, and he put up these boxes on the screen and told the viewers to pick a box and touch it. He then offered up instructions for moving from box to box, and at the end of it, he knew which box was mine! I was amazed! How could he have known?!
As an adult, I now understand that it was just a mathematical trick, and everyone would be forced to end up on the same box, no matter which box they initially chose. Now that I understand the trick, I’m a little less impressed and a lot more skeptical of magicians.
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John 20:29-31
29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
When I was younger, I thought that it would be so much easier to believe in Jesus if I had been there first-hand to witness His miracles. I would know that everything was true because I saw it with my own eyes! But is that really the case? As an adult, I understand how illusions work. Like a Pharisee, would I have believed that Jesus was misleading the crowds and performing tricks and not true miracles from heaven?
If you’re having trouble seeing God in your daily life, I encourage you to believe first. And if you can’t just believe something for the sake of believing, try just being open to the possibility of believing. Once you believe, you’ll start to see Him everywhere.
How to Strengthen Your Faith in God and Start Believing
Start a Conversation with God
If you’re coming from a place of never believing in God and wondering where to begin, just start talking to Him.
Prayer is the best place to begin because you don’t need any special equipment or tools or training.
All you need is a heart that is open to hearing. Sincerity goes a long way here, so really open up to God - about where you are, what you believe, what you don’t, and what you hope for.
Matthew 6:5-6
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
God isn’t looking for a large display; He already knows the content of you heart. So approach Him with openness, and talk to Him as you would a friend. No formal training is required.
Practice Gratitude
Luke 17:15-18
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
God’s hand touches our daily lives in millions of different ways, and sometimes it’s easy to think that things happen by chance or happenstance or coincidence. But once you believe, you’ll start to see how God orchestrates certain things in your life to line up just so.
I know that I miss so much of what He does do, but I also know that there is a lot that I can see and I have a lot to be grateful for. Start documenting all of the things that you are grateful for, and you’ll start to get a better picture of how God is in control.
Dig Into Scripture
If you’ve never read the Bible, now’s as good a time as any to dig in!
I would recommend starting with the New Testament and the Gospels of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). It’s helpful to start with Jesus to get a good idea of what the whole thing is about, and honestly, it’s much more interesting than some of the Old Testament content (in my opinion!).
I would also recommend joining a Bible study as well - it can be so beneficial to hear what others have to say and their interpretation of the text. Plus, there’s so much historical context that helps add clarification to the text that you may not know otherwise.
So find an in-person group or an online study, and start reading God’s Word!
Learn to Hear His Voice
God talks to each of us in different ways; the way that I hear and understand Him will likely be different than how you will hear and understand Him. So the only advice I can really give is to learn to distinguish His voice for yourself.
One thing I do know though is that God rarely shouts - He usually whispers. I mean, there was that whole burning bush (Exodus 3), but most of the time, God isn’t in the big things we think he’ll be in. Instead, he’s hiding in a whisper.
1 Kings 19:11-12
11And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
God had plenty of chances to talk to Elijah through big events, and Elijah was waiting for God in those things.
But instead, God whispered to Elijah. And many times, God will speak to you in that same whisper. A song lyric will stick out to you. A sentence from Sunday’s service will directly address a question you had just the other day. A friend will give you advice when you didn’t ask for it, but it’s exactly what you need to hear. You dream about something important…
There are so many ways God can and will speak to us. We just need to learn how to listen and discern His voice.
Lord Jesus, I am grateful for your blessing over me.
I am grateful for a faith that comes without needing to see first. I am grateful for the millions of ways that you speak to me and show yourself to me. I pray that I will relentlessly pursue you, despite the obstacles that try to keep me from you. Thank you for loving me and pursuing me and choosing me as your own. In your name I pray, amen.
Blessed are those who believe in Jesus, who He is, and where He comes from, without seeing Him first. That’s not to say that Jesus doesn’t reveal himself to us. In His Word; in a rainbow after a dark storm; in a quiet whisper convicting us through a song or TV show or book.
God speaks to us in many different ways, and we can know Him by our own pursuit of Him, but seeing first-hand Jesus perform miracles is not how most of us come to our faith. We don’t see Him with our eyes, but we are blessed to believe in Him despite our lack of visual confirmation. Faith is built on so much more than our eyesight; it’s built on us placing our trust in the Lord and moving forward where we’re called to go, despite any roadblocks we may come against.
Blessings Friend.
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