When I was about 4 or 5 years old, I remember being in the car with my parents as they drove the short distance home from our church’s Christmas Eve service. As Dad proceeded down a residential street near our home in Evergreen Park, IL, my ever-observant eyes spotted Santa Claus walking into someone’s house. Blissfully ignoring the fact that Santa’s reindeer and sleigh were nowhere in sight or that Santa wasn’t taking his preferred chimney route, I told my parents we needed to get home before Santa arrived. Nothing could convince me I hadn’t seen the real Santa Claus!
Taking this application to a much deeper and significant spiritual level, through the power of the Holy Spirit we can receive the unwavering faith needed to overcome our adversity. While we may not feel Jesus with us during such transitional times, He gives us the opportunity to trust His promise to be with us. We experience our Lord as we study the Word, lift our circumstances and ministry to Him in prayer, worship regularly in fellowship with other believers, praise Him with hymns and spiritual songs and read excellent Christian materials. What’s most important is that we believe the fact that Jesus is with us, even though He may not reveal Himself in the way we expect or desire.
When Jesus healed the boy possessed by an evil spirit, the Gospel of Mark tells us that the boy’s father asked Jesus if He could do anything to help his son. After Jesus responded that anything is possible for one who believes, the boy’s father exclaimed: “I do believe. Help me over come my unbelief.”- Mark 9:24
As we journey toward healing and ministry revitalization, may we boldly proclaim the words of songwriter Tommy Walker:
“Lord, I believe in You.
I always believe in You.
Though I can’t see you with my eyes,
Deep in my heart Your presence I find,
Lord, I believe in You.”
