“I know that in my head but not in my heart”
Have you ever said or thought that?
Many of us have. Some of us carry the thought on to,
“I have to figure out how to get it in my heart.”
This sounds reasonable at first, but let me ask you this question, “did you come into salvation because all of a sudden you were thinking brilliantly?” Did you figure out how to get salvation into your heart?”
There is an element of mystery in place with things of God. We responded to His invitation, but it was His work in us.
What we cannot do – He has, He is and He will do.
Read that again, several few times.
But how do I participate?
- Even the act of participating — God helps us as we cannot do it on our own.
- Even the act of faith and believing — He helps us as we cannot do it on our own.
This concept is all over the Bible when you start to see it. Think how many times Jesus said what is impossible with man is possible with God.
What God provides
Let’s look at Mark 11:
20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.
The following is from a reliable commentary – Pulpit Commentary
Verses 22 – Have faith in God; literally, have the faith of God – full, perfect, effectual faith in him; faith like a grain of mustard seed. You may be staggered and perplexed at what you will see shortly; but “have faith in God.” What seems difficult to you is easy with God. Trust in the Divine omnipotence. The things which are impossible with men are possible with him. Our Lord … employs a bold and vivid hyperbole; and, pointing probably to the Mount of Olives overhanging them, and on the shoulders of which they were then standing, he says, “With this faith you might say to this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, and it shall come to pass.”
A seasoned Bible scholar and missionary, Alan Vincent, would often use the following illustration when he spoke at our church. He would have someone stand up and then throw an object to that person. He would say, “Here, have the faith of God.” Alan would continue his message with Bible verses that explain it is God that enables us to believe.
So what does this mean for us in our everyday life?
Stop trying to do something you cannot do!
We have run on the hamster wheel of trying to improve ourselves for far too long. God wants us to look into His face, and get to know Him, and that transforms us. So we move from our head to our heart by allowing Him to reveal Himself through experiences.
Just show up!
Our culture teaches us that we can only learn through cognitive understanding. Learning by studying and listening to the Bible and teaching does have a place. But ultimately, it should lead you into His presence. This will be unique for everyone.
If you would like to know more about what this looks like practically for you, please contact me. And stay tuned for the next post where I will give some practical tips and ideas for responding to and experiencing God. Until then…
Your Turn
Ask God where you have been relying on your own to figure out how to get something into your heart.
Ask for His help to get to know Him for who He truly is and fall into the capable arms of God.
P.S. Here is a funny story. I was lying awake this morning thinking about this post and how I can help people understand this concept and trust Him enough to let go of trying so hard. Immediately I heard, “you can’t but I can.”
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