Why I believe in God...

I have been thinking lately about what I would like to write about, and God has put it on my heart to share with you, why I am a Christian.  Why do I believe that God is real?  This question has been running though my mind a lot lately has been the topic of conversation in Sunday school class, and discussed in a study book I have been reading, all encouraging us to “be prepared to give an answer to why you have faith in Jesus Christ.” 

I have struggled with this question, because I have never really been put on the spot to answer it before.  I thought it had to be a question that I had some sort of rehearsed answer that would convince anyone that God was real.  I thought I had to research theories and creation accounts, as well as prove Jesus’ existence through historical proof.  My husband and I saw the movie God's Not Dead, and I felt…that’s how I need to be ready to respond, like the student who loved God enough, and had enough faith, that he was willing to talk in front of his peers in multiple classes trying to convince them through creation accounts and philosophical theories that God is real. 

I realized though, that is not what God is asking of me.  He is simply asking me to share from my life experiences why I believe in Him.  Therefore, I am not going to go into scientific proofs, or talk about theories of why God is or isn't real.  I am simply going to share with you from the bottom of my heart how Christ has revealed himself to me. 

Here’s why God is real to me:  during my darkest moments, the hardest trials, just when I think I am alone, God draws me in to remind me that I am not.  Paul reminds us in Philippians verse 4 to “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice.”  Paul goes on to say in verse 11, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether in living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."  

I think one of the best visuals of this is the footprints in the sand poem.  Here we have an image of footprints walking along in the sand.  For periods of time, there are two sets.  They walk through life, through some good times, but when bad times come…there is only one set.  Now some people might jump on this chance to discredit God.  Where is He in the bad times, why does He allow bad things to happen? But do you know, that I have come to cling to the fact that there are only one set of footprints.  “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you.”  Wow, so those low points, the bad times, the hardest trials, He was there.  He carried me.  He was my strength to get though those times.   I know this to be true in my own life, because I couldn't have walked through those times on my own.  I would have fallen, not able to get back up.  But with His strength, I have overcome.  Through these trials I have looked for and been shown joy, the joy of the Lord. That is why God is real to me. 

I also believe that God loves us, so much so that “he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.  Jesus’ death and resurrection was to restore the relationship between us and God.  Knowing this, believing in this, gives me hope and purpose for my life and joy for the trials I endure.  1 Peter 1:3-9 reassures us of this hope. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This was all mulling in my head one Sunday during worship service.  In only God’s perfect way, His perfectly orchestrated way, our worship leader played “I Know My Redeemer Lives” by Nicole C. Mullen.  What a beautiful testimony of how God is present in creation all around us.  If it’s not enough for you to think about not being able to make it on your own strength, look all around you.  Look at creation.  Look at how beautifully and intricately our world is made and works.  I see the hand of God, His signature on the beautiful canvas all around me. 

Who taught the sun
Where to stand in the morning
Who taught the ocean
You can only come this far
And who showed the moon
Where to hide till evening
Whose words alone can
Catch a falling star

…

The very same God
That spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary
The worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands
That hold me when I'm broken
They conquer death to bring me victory

I Know My Redeemer Lives -Nicole C. Mullen

I am very fortunate to be able to teach my daughter some of these truths in her science curriculum.  We have been studying how different birds and insects live.  I could go on forever with the detail of how they live, and the purposes behind some of the things that they do to survive, and those don’t just happen by chance.  God created them this way, maybe if for no other reason than to reveal himself to us. 

I have seen God through the miracle of my children.  I have seen God when my mourning turned to joy (Psalms 30:11).  I have seen God when forgiveness was extended to me.  I have seen God when relationships in my life have been restored.  I have seen God when I desperate, lonely, and afraid.  I have seen God when I have looked back at moments in my life and can say “Oh, that’s why I went through this,” or “that’s what I was supposed to learn from this situation.”  I know that God is real, because His hand is so present in guiding my life.  I don’t believe in coincidences.  I believe that one feels called to something, or led in a direction because God is working in their lives.  That’s how I know He is real.  As you prepare yourself to answer the question is God real to you, or why do you believe in God, I pray Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."