I Believe It (The Life of Jesus)Sýnishorn

Belief that Endures

I can't deny it. If I said I got here alone, I’d be lyin’. ’Cause, my eyes have seen the goodness of the Father. We’re the ones He loves. We’re the ones that He so loved.

In our culture, self-sufficiency is a badge of honor, and a sense of pride is attached to being self-made or having achieved something without assistance from others. But we haven’t done anything on our own, really. All of it has been because of God’s goodness to us in Jesus.

Long ago, I had an old car, and I wasn’t taking very good care of my brakes. In my estimation, the cost was too high. So I did the “wise” thing: keep driving until I made it worse and ended up paying three times as much. I’m much better now at car maintenance (probably because of this experience!) But one day, while I was driving my unfortunately maintained car, the brakes finally locked up, the rotor broke, and the car wouldn’t move even an inch forward. And at that precise moment, unbeknownst to me, there was a tornado a couple of streets away from me. Had that brake rotor not failed, I’d have been in the storm's exact path. I think back about that and remember references in scripture to taking shelter under the shadow of God’s wings or being placed in the cleft of the rock. God saved me that day, and He’s been saving me like that all this time.

My name, Jon, means “God is gracious,” When my son was born, I saw a tangible representation of God’s faithfulness and graciousness in giving me, my son. So his name also means “God is gracious.” I’m amazed at how God has placed kind and good people around me and given me opportunities and relationships I couldn’t have imagined. I always remind my kids about God’s goodness, what He’s brought me through in my life, and how I got from there to here. I want them to know that He will do that for them by the Spirit's power.

This life is sometimes hard and can feel heavy, confounding, and even scary. But our belief in the life of Jesus provides the foundation for a belief that endures, and a life lived victoriously. Because He so loved us. Time spent renewing our dependence on the goodness of God can embolden our faith and strengthen us for whatever He asks us to do.