Only Believe
by Jill Southern
It sounds so simple, that all we have to do is believe but fear, anxiety and doubt war against our believing. Do we really believe that God can do all that He says and that His promises are ‘YES’ and ‘AMEN’ to those who believe (2 Corinthians 1:20). Do we really trust God? Can we take our hands off the controls of our lives and give over to God full control, absolutely clinging ALONE to Him?
Last year my life went through enormous change and it involved selling a house that I had lived in for 27 years. I had the house on the market but it did not sell and I became very worried and anxious. As I prayed, God very clearly said to me: “Do you want to fix it, or do you want ME to take absolute charge of the situation?” Of course, we all know the correct answer, so I handed over the whole situation to God... but nothing happened!
Could I still trust God and not take back the responsibility myself if nothing seem to be happening? I started to realise that I was under test. How much did I truly trust God? What happens if I give the situation to God and He doesn’t do it my way, or how I think it should be done? Am I still willing to trust Him?
We can’t trust in someone we don’t know. The next challenge is: Do we KNOW God? God wants a personal walk and relationship with us. I started to realise that I needed to know God in an even deeper way before I could truly trust Him implicitly. God wants me to stand COMPLETE in Him, but do I? Am I always looking for ways of fixing my life or my circumstances with people or things other than God? This has triggered a new spiritual awakening in me. God says to us: “My yoke is easy, my burden is light” (Matthew 11, 28-30). If we’re carrying heavy burdens that are weighing us down and burning us out, we can be sure they don’t come from Him.
One thing I have learnt out of all of this is that when we come to the end of ourselves and what we can bring to the party God delights to take over and bring the miracle. My house sold within the time frame necessary and all the pieces of the jigsaw finally came together. I was so thankful to God for His faithfulness and provision. He’s interested in all the details of our individual lives. Whatever makes us think that we can do a better job of running our lives or our ministries than God can?
Hopefully, as we become more mature in Him, we will learn to ‘ONLY BELIEVE’. We’ll trust in God and stop trying to push or pull and make it happen. For some of us, when we’re in so deep that the water is over our heads and there’s no way forward or back, at last we stand back and allow God to act. And this is when HE will get all the glory, and it will become obvious to all that it wasn’t humanly possible and that it simply had to be a ‘God thing’.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to get to know You better and to walk with You in yet a deeper way so that I am able to ‘ONLY BELIEVE’, to trust implicitly in You and to take my hands off all the controls. Help me to believe it’s Your delight to make possible what seems impossible. If we give You the ‘right of way’, in our lives today we’ll surely see the miraculous happen. Teach us, Lord, these important truths and how to apply them, in Jesus’ name, Amen. Jesus, what You have said, I believe!
Jill Southern is the founder of Ellel Ministries Pierrepont and directed the work for 21 years. She has recently stood down from that role but still teaches on the NETS programme and has the passion to train and equip God`s people to fully walk in their destiny and calling. She is the Regional Director for Ellel Ministries International in South East Asia and China and is also on the Executive Leadership of the ministry.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
