From Hearing to Believing, Part 1

Okay, I admit it. I’ve succumbed to the economic fear and uncertainty that has gripped the nation. I’ve allowed myself to be conformed to the world by the gloom-and-doom media rather than being transformed by the renewing of my mind. Guilty as charged.

First Corinthians 10:13 says that “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” So where exactly is my “way of escape”? Point me in the right direction and I’m outta here!

Unfortunately, for many of us, our way of escape(ing) is not God’s. Over-eating, over-working, over-sleeping, or wallowing in depression are just a few of the many ways we can try to avoid what we’re thinking and feeling and the problems we’re facing.

Just this week I read that, according to a recent survey, almost 50 percent of Americans are worried about losing their job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment at 8.1 percent. But even if we reach the 10.1 percent we experienced in the 1981-82 recession (the highest post-WWII level), nearly 90 percent of us will still have a job. So why are half us worrying that we won’t?

The reason, of course, is that we’re all afraid of winding up amongst the 10 percent instead of the 90 percent. It’s been said that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. My pastor once said that both faith and fear come the same way… “By hearing, by accepting it as truth and believing it could happen to you.” Or, put another way: “Fear is the faith that it won’t work out.”

That pretty much sums up the problem: 50 percent of us hear about the recessionary job loss and believe “it could happen to me” – and henceforth comes the worrying. If that’s the case then, first of all, I need to hear something other than what I’ve been listening to (CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc.). Next, I need to begin believing what I hear. In case you haven’t already guessed where I’m going, I need to both hear and believe the Word of God. More specifically, I need to hear and believe what God has to say about recession, the economy, and my financial security. Here are some examples.

Psalm 112 says, if I fear the LORD and delight in his commands, that:

• I am blessed and my children will be mighty in the land and will be blessed.
  
• Wealth and riches are in my house.
  
• Light dawns for me, even in darkness.
  
• Good will come to me, if I am generous and lend freely, and conduct my affairs with justice.
  
• I will never be shaken.
  
• I will have no fear of bad news.
  
• My heart is steadfast secure, and trusting in the LORD.
  
• I will have no fear.
  
• In the end, I will look on my foes in triumph.

Jeremiah 17 says, if I trust in the LORD and my confidence is in him, that:

• I am blessed.
  
• I am like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
  
• I do not fear when heat comes.
  
• I have no worries in a year of drought and never fail to bear fruit.

Isaiah 58 says that:

• The LORD will always guide me.
  
• He will satisfy my needs in a sun-scorched land.
  
• He will strengthen my frame.
  
• I will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Psalm 5, 84, and 90 say that:

• The favor of the Lord rests upon me and establishes the work of my hands. (Ps 90:17)
  
• The Lord has blessed me and surrounds me with his favor, as with a shield (Ps 5:12).
  
• The LORD God is my sun and my shield; he bestows favor and honor and no good thing does he withhold from me. (Ps 84:11)

Okay, that takes care of one part of the equation, what God has to say. But how about the other two, hearing and believing? I’ll save that for my next post. Stay tuned…