Part Two of this ThinkSpace is personal – not just for me but for you too. Something else we can’t make up is our own true story. Mine is different from yours, but you’ll relate to the plot, even if the exact events aren’t the same. Let’s think about our stories. I’ll start.
Here’s a little more about my journey to believe in God through faith in Jesus Christ. I’m fully rooted in my faith now, but it wasn’t always that way.
I prayed to become a Christian and for my sins to be forgiven when I was a wee four year old. I wasn’t even old enough to read, but I knew in my heart God was real. I also knew in my little spirit that the Bible stories I learned in Sunday school were true. But like everyone else who believes, I had questions too. I wondered how all the animals got along in the ark. I wondered if all the dinosaurs died in the flood. I wondered how a few loaves and fishes could be blessed by Jesus and *poof* were multiplied to feed 5000 people – with baskets left over. I also wondered if God was really alive because I couldn’t see or touch Him…
As I got older, my questions became more personal about my own life. Was what I still believed really true, or was it just part of the culture I grew up in? When I got to my first year at a non-Christian college, more opinions and alternatives and theories were presented to me to filter through. I remember at one lecture, a professor with a PhD misquoted a Bible passage saying the Israelites believed God was a fire-breathing monster, as a class full of students blindly took notes. Then one of my favorite art teachers told me she was an atheist during one of our personal conversations. She knew I had talent and told me what a mistake it was that I wanted to go to a Bible college for a couple of years. She said I’d waste my abilities and potential – and may not get it back. Instead, I thought, “Well if God gave me this gift, why would He take it away if I took time to learn about Him before my life got fully underway? Instead, I think He’ll bless it!” So I did – and He did!
I also thought a lot about the fact that one day I would die and stand before God. I knew I wouldn’t be there holding hands with my parents or grandparents, or enter Heaven as an extension of their beliefs – or anyone else’s. It was up to me to decide if I was for God or against Him.
A few years later, I left the culture I grew up in and moved to California and all the “training wheels” came off. I tried what I thought I’d been missing out on and learned the hard way for awhile. But always, always, always, God’s voice was speaking to me quietly within my heart and mind, reminding me He loved me and was waiting for me with open arms to come home – the classic prodigal daughter.
This was the turning point for me. I had tried both living for God and living only for myself (which didn’t work out very well – can you relate?). I had a lot of information, but the last 12 inches between my head and my heart were still not fully connected. I don’t know about you, but my personality is not a “sweet accepter.” I’m the type that wants solid facts, proof, and evidence to weave through my faith for it to be real to me. That was the final piece I was looking for once and for all. For you it may be something different. When I decided to look for my missing piece, I found it was already waiting for me.
I picked up and began to read a powerful book that had been on my shelf for years by Josh MacDowell called Evidence that Demands a Verdict. It laid out facts and history, archeological evidence (still being discovered today), and fulfilled prophecy statistics that were staggering and undeniable. Halfway through the book, I waved my white flag of surrender over the immense and overwhelming documented evidence from all sides that pointed to One God and the absolute truth of His Word.
I made my choice to follow Him. It changed my life forever.
As I mentioned at the beginning, your personal story and experiences are different from mine. However, the destination is the same: a point where you too will make the biggest decision of your life. It will truly determine your eternal destination. If you’re still seeking a missing piece you need to become a Christian, or to connect the final gap you are withholding before fully surrendering your life to God and His beautiful plan for your life, look for it and don’t stop until you find it. Pray and ask Him to meet you and your questions right where you are. Here’s a prayer and a promise for you:
Psalm 43:3 (NLT): “Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.”
Psalm 145:18 (NIV): “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
—————-
In Part Three, we’ll look at some of the facts and evidence for faith in God that will encourage and astound you. Belief in God is not “blind faith,” it’s faith with eyes wide open.
RESET HIGHER: Think about your own true story. What have you learned? What can this wisdom that comes from experience teach you? How will you use it for good in your life?
