BELIEVE

Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

I saw someone had posted a photo on Facebook she had taken of a sign that only said BELIEVE... It no doubt had some special meaning. But what did this believe mean? 

My question is: believe what?

Another question, when told to keep the faith, is: faith in what?

I don't know what others believe or have faith in. I know that I believe and have faith in Jesus Christ alone. He is the answer to everything. Hope for "whatever" grows stronger through Him. We can believe He is able to do all He says He can do. We believe that He will do what is best...not always what we expect...and often times for some unknown reason we may never know about...a concept we understand if we know Him. 

In and through Him we awake with strength for each new day. Peace and joy in the midst of trials is evident. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3-4‬)

Trusting in ourselves or others is a scary thing. We do not have all the answers. But our God does...so I will trust in Him. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (‭Psalm ‭18‬:‭2‬)

We do not know how to handle some of life's situations. But if we give it to God, leave the trouble at His throne, He will handle it. If we try to handle on our own we get in His way. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭36‬)  And He meant in Him!

When we come to Christ and recognize Him for who He is, our strong tower, protector, wise counselor, Father God, He will come through even if it doesn't always look like it at first. Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭30‬:‭5‬)

After I wrote this I read a devotion referring to Romans 1:24-25. The commentary with it stated that there are many who recognize that God exists but do not believe in Him. They will believe what they choose to believe. They might believe a lie, what suits their fancy. When that happens, because it is their choice not to believe in Him He gives us over to those things so desired that are not always of Him. And we end up without hope, joy, peace...

Give in to Him. Give yourself to Him and He will be beside you so you can lean on Him.

2Corinthians 3:5 - Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God...