Now that I know...

Just over a week ago, I attended and helped with the ReNEWed Life Women's Event. Like I shared in my previous post, God did and said much. Our focus was "Knowing God and Making Him Known." In the days that followed, God reminded me that as I get to know Him, I will better understand my identity in Christ. This is a wonderful truth, but it can be a slow process.

I know God is my Creator, but I don't always see myself as His masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10) I know God is my Father, but I don't always feel like His chosen child. (Romans 8:15) I know God is Jehovah Rapha, our great healer, but sometimes health concerns cause me to worry. (Exodus 15:26) I also know God is called Jehovah Jireh, our provider, but at times I try to take care of myself. (Genesis 22:14)

Do you see a trend here? I do. The other night as I cried out to the One who hears my prayers, He answered. Knowing the names of God are important and it's vital to know His attributes as well. But my friend, knowledge is not enough. We must let this knowledge move from our heads to our heart.

Once we know something, we have a choice to make - Do we believe it?

For instance -

I know God has a purpose and plan for all of His children...do I believe this is true for me?

I know God fearfully and wonderfully created each one...do I believe He did this with me?

I know God can do the impossible...do I believe that's true for my circumstances?

I know God provides peace and strength...do I believe He will do that for me?

Could you make a similar statement? It's OK if you do, but it's important to deal with the questions we ask. I've found myself thinking about this a lot. One question has led to more -

What do I believe? How can I believe more? Can I believe better? What does it mean to believe? What truths do I know? Do I live like they are true?

Believing is important for us as believers and the Bible talks about it much, so I intend to study this a bit more and dig a bit deeper. There are things I know and believe, but there are also clearly areas where I still doubt. So for now, I will do what the dad in Scripture did and pray, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24)

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation - knowing truth, but struggling to believe it? How have you come to believe what you know? I encourage you to share your stories. Be honest about your struggles.

I also think we must continue the journey we addressed at our recent women's event - as we get to know God better, we will come to trust Him more. Don't settle for knowing facts about God when you can know Him. Friend, this walk of faith is a journey. We learn and we grow; we struggle and we persevere. We experience hills and valleys. We ask questions and find answers. We seek God and will always find Him. We learn new things and realize there's more we don't know.

So I encourage you to think about what you know about God and then ask yourself if you believe it.  If we want to live out our call to make God known, knowing Him is not enough - we must believe because when we do we will trust and obey Him, which the world will see!