What do You Really Believe?

How important is it to really know what you believe? I mean, really know. Seems silly to say that you believe something but don’t really know about it. Doesn’t believing mean that you have understanding?

Knowing from a biblical perspective is more than casual; in fact, in reference to knowing God, the word “know” is the Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse. It’s not the “Hey. I know you. I remember you from that party. You’re the best friend of my cousin Sally’s Uncle Charlie” type of knowing. It’s the acknowledging, feeling, understanding, perceiving, getting up close and personal kind of knowing.

And what about belief? Could belief also have a deeper dimension than just a mindful decision? I remember a story about a tightrope walker who was famous for daring stunts. This particular time, crowds gathered to watch him walk across a thin rope strung precariously over a canyon hundreds of feet deep.

First, he simply walked across, from one side to the other. The people were amazed.Then, he did it blindfolded. The crowds went wild. Next, he rode a unicycle across. He seemed to be unstoppable.

Suddenly he turned to the crowd and said, “You’ve seen me walk this rope blindfolded. You’ve seen me ride across it without so much as a flinch. Now I will do my greatest trick: I will push a wheelbarrow across to the other side. Who here believes I can do it?”

Everyone shouted and heartily agreed that he could do it. The tightrope walker set his eyes on one man in the front. He took the handles of the wheelbarrow and wheeled it over to the somewhat startled onlooker.

“Do you think I can do this?”
“Well, yes” said the man.
“I mean, do you really believe I can push this across and back without falling to my death in the canyon below?”
“Yes, yes, I do. I watched you walk blindfolded. I watched you ride without even flinching. Yes, I know and believe you can do it beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
The stunt man was quiet for a brief second, and looking intently into the man’s eyes said, “Then get in.”

This kind of belief does not stand on the sidelines. It literally puts its entire faith in what is intimately known.

Know what you believe and your heart will not only be pliable, but accessible.

Father-God, I put myself into Your loving hands. I desire to know You more and more. Lord, take my intellectual belief and turn it into an all-encompassing heart and soul belief.

Check out: Psalm 46:10