Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;…”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Dear friends, there comes a time, I believe, in everybody’s lives when the question is asked “How Can I Believe?” Things happen that ‘shake’ our faith in our God of love, maybe a loved one was lost, a much anticipated event fails to eventuate or our faith is just shaken for some personal reason. Friends these times are very dangerous. The devil always takes advantage of our mindset at this stage, pressing upon us discouragement and despair. This situation is very dangerous and does have the potential to roll us. Unless we have a sound foundation on the rock our very sanity could be at risk. As we defined in previous documents schizophrenia is a mental disorder that can come about by a breakdown in the brain or it is often a direct result of the devil and his tactics. People ‘hear’ voices in their minds and unless we have a full understanding of the spirit world and how it works these ‘voices’ do have the ability to literally ‘send us mad’. Please friends, listen carefully and let me explain how this works. In these moments of intense grief, disappointment and confusion we have a few factors to consider. Let’s paint a picture of a very real scenario and we’ll dissect it from every angle, hopefully this will enable you to understand ‘how to believe’.
One of the most common scenarios is the loss of a child and this is the scene we will use today. The very first reaction almost everyone has after a loss is to blame God. It’s God’s fault, why did Jesus take my child? How can I believe in Him now? Well firstly friends Jesus didn’t take your child, Jesus never causes death, suffering or pain. Friend, whose land are we living in? Jesus may be the rightful owner but at the moment Satan has usurped the throne. Yes friend, at the moment we are living in the devil’s playground. It’s the devil’s reign of terror that causes all the pain and suffering, the devil loves it, his government is run by pain and suffering. So while Jesus never causes the pain He often does use it. Let’s digress for a moment here. Friend, let’s take a quick look at the life of a piano player. How do they become famous? yes, practice. Can they become a proficient player by swimming or running? no, they have to spend hours and hours at the piano practicing. It is the same with Jesus, you cannot have faith if you have never exercised the ‘faith’ muscle. If you have never needed to have faith and you haven’t experienced the need for faith, then how do you expect to be able to have faith when a crisis arrives? Let me stress this, we are living in the devil’s playground, ‘bad’ things are going to happen and unless we have learnt to have a blind faith in Jesus, our faith will be shaken.
So let’s go back to our scenario, a young mother and father have just lost their child. They do believe in Jesus but this particular trial has them shattered. Their first response is shock, then questions why? And often followed by anger, blaming God, it’s always God’s fault, didn’t He have the power to save their child? Why did He let their child die?
First and foremost I would like to point out and emphasise the fact – at this stage Jesus is the closest to you, closer than ever before.
Psalms 46:1 “…God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
In your distress you may not be able to feel Him but believe me He is always close and even closer in times of trial. So let’s take a closer look at the picture. We’ll look at it from the point of view of two different families. Let’s start with family one. This family has a solid faith in God. Their faith is strong but their grief is stronger. They aren’t ‘blaming’ God but they are questioning His love. The second family do have a faith in God but it’s not strong and in their grief they are fully accusing God of ‘taking’ their child. The answer for both families is the same. Let’s go to a allegory to explain.
A father and his child are sitting down to dinner. Times are tough at the moment and the father hasn’t been paid for a while. The meal isn’t fancy but it is sufficient. The child is young but she has noticed they don’t have the fancy food her friends have. She questions her father “why?” The father is wise and doesn’t want to cause any concern to his young daughter so he gives a evasive answer. The child, however won’t be put off and presses her father for more information. The father is in a conundrum; does he tell his young daughter the truth? Or does he palm her off again? he knows she is too young to share in his worries. She wouldn’t understand now, she might later but right now her mind is young and tender, she doesn’t need to be concerned about these matters. So the father turns to his child and tenderly taking her hand in his, he gently explains that right now she just needs to trust him. Hasn’t he always supplied her needs? has she ever been hungry? She is young and these concerns are too overwhelming for her fragile mind, so right now all she needs to do is to trust in her father. He will protect her and supply her needs. She may learn the truth later, she may not, but right now her father has her by the hand and he will always be with her, protecting and providing. She only needs to have faith in him.
Friends, the father is Jesus and we are the child. How often in our lives do we ask our children to just trust us without giving a reason why. We can see the answer and we can see our children don’t need to shoulder that concern, so we protect them by ‘hiding’ the truth and just asking our children to trust us. Friends, as parents we expect our children to respect our decisions and to trust us – but – do we give our Father in heaven the same courtesy? Let’s take a quick look at a Bible verse that I believe says it all:-
Matthew 6:9 “… Our Father which art in heaven,…”
“Our Father” – we expect our children to respect their parents’ decisions, without necessarily giving a reason but do we as adults respect our Father in heaven’s decisions without needing a reason?
Jesus is saying “child, when have I ever let you down? when have I forsaken you? I know the path you are walking right now is painful and I have noted your tears. Please child, at this time please, just trust Me. Rest in My arms and I will carry you through. I know you want answers right now but please rest in My assurance of love and comfort. I know what’s best, you may get answers in this lifetime and you may not, but please as your Father in heaven I am looking out for you. I can see your pain and noted your distress, please child, right now just trust Me, I love you dearly. But a little while and I will return to take you home but for the moment please put your hand in Mine and together we will walk this rocky pathway.”
Friends let’s delve in a little deeper, we want to expose the ‘devil in the detail’. If we can see the picture as it really is we can defeat the devil and obtain peace of mind. Yes friends, it’s the devil that is crushing us, not the ‘cause of our pain’. Let’s take a look behind the scene and have a look at what is really going on. We’ll continue to use the scenario of a child lost.
A very close family of four, mum, dad, brother, sister and the family dog are taking a road trip. The journey is extensive and the car is packed to the hilt with provisions for the journey. Everyone is excited and full of joy. The journey starts full of enthusiasm but as the driving goes on for a while the children start to get restless, they want to stop and run around for awhile. The father is starting to feel pressured, he knows they need to get to a certain destination to rest for the night. It’s getting on in the day and time to reach their retirement destination for the night is running out. The children, his wife, even the dog are pressuring him to stop for a break. Let’s push the pause button here and take a look behind the scene.
As we have discussed in other documents (readily available on this internet site) we all have angels with us constantly throughout our lives, a angel representative from Jesus and a angel representative from the devil. Now whoever we have chosen as our master their angel representative takes precedence. In this scenario we are using, their master is Jesus and Jesus’ angel guardians are taking control – BUT – they can only control the situation if the family is listening and willing. This is often when the devil’s angels get a foothold. In times of stress how often do we listen to the voice of doubt, the voice of the devil.
So, going back to our family, looking behind the scene we see both angel representatives hard at work. The angel of the Lord is trying his utmost to calm the children, mother and dog, to bring peace to the car and give the father counsel and calmness and wisdom and to keep the family safe. The angel of the devil on the other hand, is working flat out to stir everyone up and agitate the situation. So much going on, who do you listen to? In the scenario we are using the family give heed to the devil’s angels, everyone even the dog start hounding the father, they want to stop for a while. The pressure and tension in the air is extreme, the devil’s angels go to town with the situation, Jesus’ angels try desperately to get a word in, but as the family has chosen not to listen to them, their voices go unheard. Let’s push the play button and see what is happening in the car. The mother’s voice is heard exhorting her husband to stop, she points out a rest area up ahead and insists he stop. The children are loudly adding their opinion, they want to stop and even the dog is barking wildly. The father overwhelmed and confused pulls into the rest stop. Everyone piles out of the car and starts to run around. Time passes and the father expresses a desire to continue to their destination, it’s getting late, here he meets a chorus of voices. Let’s push the pause button again and have a look behind the scene. Jesus’ and the devil’s angel are hard at it again, Jesus’ angels are pleading with the family to give heed to the father, they plead with the father to move on, while the devil’s angels are remonstrating with everyone to stay, they even stir up the dog to be noisy and get in the way. The family are giving a ear to the devil’s angels and as a result Jesus’ angels are being drowned out.
Now let’s pause from our scenario and digress here for a moment. I want to make it plainly clear – this is a scenario not a real event that I am depicting here, but yes the parallels to a real event are the purpose of the allegory. I’m painting a picture to help my readers understand exactly what is going on behind the scenes and how Jesus’ angels and the devil’s angels work. Jesus to save, the devil to destroy. I also want to make it plainly clear that Jesus’ angels don’t sit back and let the devil take control without a fight, they also have the power to move in and take control, but this is not the allegory, the picture I am painting here. To fully understand ‘how to believe’ this allegory/picture does need to depict a death.
Let’s go back to our story, the family have fully blocked out Jesus’ angels and are repeating the words, sentences and emotions the devil’s angels are feeding them. Hostility is gaining ground and the father is bombarded with angry voices. He gives way and the family return to their play. More time passes and the father’s anxiety grows, finally he points out quite emphatically, that if they don’t leave now they won’t reach their hotel room before the reception closes. The father is cross and stressed and impatiently bundles his family into the car and drives off. The father is angry, his family should have listened to him and left early, now he is going to have to put his foot on the accelerator to make the hotel in time. Let’s hit the pause button again. What are the angels doing now? Jesus’ angels have been pushed out of the picture but they are still trying to protect the family, the devil’s angels are screaming into everyones ear. The father is under attack from the devil’s angels, they are really working the father over, “you should have left ages ago, your family doesn’t respect you, now how are you going to make it on time, you know you are going to have to speed”, the father is losing control driven by the devil. But the devil’s angels aren’t just working on the father, mum and the kids are getting it too, “father didn’t have to be so harsh, dad was mean, he spoke roughly, dad was mean to the dog, etc”. You know how it goes we have all had to deal with it. With the scenario on hold you can see how the devil, once he has full control, has so manipulated the situation it is a no brainer – the car is going to crash. The father’s attention isn’t on the road, the children are whimpering, the dog is whining and the mother is ‘snubbing’ him, all courtesy of the devil. Let’s hit the play button. The emotions of the family are in turmoil, the father is no longer in control, his mind isn’t thinking clearly. A sharp corner looms ahead and in his state of mind the father fails to negotiate the bend. The car rolls. Sirens, ambulances, police, it’s all a blur to this shattered family. One of their members hasn’t made it, they are now a family of three plus the dog. The family turns against each other, the father is shattered after all it was his fault, but was it? Let’s hit the pause button again. The devil’s angels are all standing around congratulating each other, they are in their element, they have succeeded in destroying another family and are very proud of themselves. The devil revels in despair and destruction and they are immensely pleased with their result, haven’t they just destroyed a life and torn apart a family? Or have they? Jesus has seen the whole episode, yes He allowed the accident to occur but He now sends in His angels to comfort, and reunite the family. The devil has destroyed this family but they did in the past have a knowledge of God and while they refused to listen before the accident they might now. In the shadows behind the scene Jesus’ angels have been waiting for their opportunity.
Let’s hit the play button again. The accident is over, the family is home and grief is flooding the hearts of the remaining family members. Memories of their little girl lost are overwhelming them and they fear their grief is going to destroy them, how can they go on?
This my friends, is where Jesus steps in. He hasn’t forgotten this family, yes they refused to listen but Jesus still loves them. In the guise of humanity He will send comfort, hope and peace. Jesus will send people to help, and He will send His angels to comfort and impart peace. Jesus can reunite the family and bring good out of bad. The answers to ‘how can I believe’ in this particular scenario lie in the first allegory (the father and daughter sitting down to dinner) we may never have ‘answers’ in this life, we just have to have a childlike faith in Jesus, He will get us through.
With this particular scenario I wanted to depict what the driving factors are and how the devil uses us to bring about destruction. If the family in the allegory had refused to listen to the devil in the first place the accident might never have happened but there is still hope even though the accident happened. Jesus is very compassionate and of tender mercies. He loves us dearly and is always looking out for His people.
Knowledge, I believe is understanding. If we can ‘see’ what is going on in the darkness, if we know the wiles of the devil we can be better prepared to fight him. The above allegory depicts in detail how the devil works, he makes us believe they are ‘our own’ thoughts and feelings, and he often uses the truth against us. Yes, the father was late but instead of listening to the devil and getting worked up, he could have put his trust in Jesus, stayed calm and safely negotiated the corner.
Friends, in this wildly, wicked world it is more important than ever to stay on guard and defend ourselves against the devil. Don’t listen to him my friends, even if what he is saying rings true, he never tells us the whole truth and he often twists it to suit his purposes. So, don’t be in the allegory of the above family, always stop, pause and listen to Jesus, He will get you safely home.
Friends, let’s look at another scenario. Let’s say for instance, two young people have agreed to meet for dinner. He is at the restaurant on time, she is not. He doesn’t know why she is late and starts to get impatient. Let’s hit the pause button again. Yes, again we see the devil in the detail, he is stirring up the young man waiting, “she’s not coming, she has forgotten you, she wasn’t interested in the first place”, you get the picture. Hit the play button. The young man is visibly upset by the time the young girl arrives and before she has a chance to explain he launches into a tirade. She is shocked and confused at his behaviour, turns on her heel and walks out. Going behind the scene again we see the devil and his angels congratulating each other, another relationship ruined. You get the picture, once again if each of those young people had stopped, thought about it, the breakup could have been avoided.
Friends, it is so important to listen to Jesus. Jesus loves us dearly and His agents will help us, keep us together and keep us safe. Please stop listening to the devil or his angels, they are out to destroy and if we don’t keep our ears listening to Jesus they will take over.
Friends, there are other scenarios but the outcome is the same, we have to put our faith in Jesus. As our Father in heaven He is running the show and we have to put our trust in Him. Please friend, leave Jesus in control and stop trying to drive, leave Jesus in the driver’s seat, He may take turns we don’t understand at the moment but trust Him, He does know what He is doing. Restitution will be made in heaven, answers will come but till that day friend, please put your hand in the hand of our beautiful Saviour and let Him drive. Amen
Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”