BELIEF

Belief.

Such a small word. Such a powerful, almost mystical word.

Kind of frightening?

If you know me, read my book, or read these blogs, you know I try to live by this phrase:

Ask, Believe, Receive.

What does it really mean?

We get the “ask” part.

That’s easy.

“I want, I need, I desire, I would love…”

“I really want, I really need, I really desire, I would really love…”

“I DEPERATELY want, I DEPERATELY need, I DESPERATELY desire, I would DESPERATELY love…”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. We know how to ask for things.

Let’s jump to “receiving.”

We all know how to “receive.”

“It’s just what I asked for, thank you, I love it.”

“It’s just what I needed, thank you, it’s perfect, thank you, it’s what I’ve always wanted, dreamed of, prayed for, thank you.”

We all know how to say “thank you” when we receive a gift. We know how to show our appreciation, we know the words to express how we feel.

Okay great. Ask and ye shall receive. Gotcha.

Whoa, not too fast.

We skipped a major step.

“Belief”.

Oh good God, what is she talking about?

I’m instantly reminded of the movie, “Miracle on 34th Street.”

A young, adorable Natalie Wood played Susie Walker, a little girl who believed in nothing. No fairy tales, no fantasies, nothing she couldn’t see or touch. In one of the final scenes, she’s sitting in the back seat of Uncle Fred’s car, her head resting against the window. Rolling her eyes, in boredom, and repeating these words in a monotone, “get me out of here”, voice.

“I believe….I believe, it’s silly, but I believe.”

It was the 1947 version of “yeah, whatever.”

Why is believing so hard? What is it about the word belief?

The word seems to be a bit mystical, sort of magical, sort of “out there.”

Maybe we have a hard time “believing” because it means we have no choice but to trust. It suggests total faith, confidence, reliance and credence in something you can’t see, touch or feel, especially in this current world of instant gratification.

It’s simply belief.

But belief and trust is really all we can count on.

When we pray, we ask.

When we receive, we thank.

But when we believe, we must TRUST.

We all have worries, fears and challenges. But what God wants is to ease our worries, take our fears. He wants to help us through our challenges. He wants us to remember we are never alone during our hard times, our times of need. The times we can’t bear. The times we can’t see a way out. The times we feel we can’t breathe, can’t swallow.

We are never alone, and guided always. Our prayers are heard.

That’s why it’s so crucial to keep believing, after you’ve ASKED and before you’ve RECEIVED.

If you’ve ever seen the band Journey in concert, you know that when they sing “Don’t Stop Believing” everyone in the crowd goes NUTS!

We all scream the lyrics at the top of our lungs. But when we leave the concert, do we really live our lives, “believing”, because JOURNEY SAID, DON’T STOP?

When we were kids, we all believed in Santa Claus. Christmas was so magical. Then one day, we stopped believing. Everything about Christmas changed when we stopped believing. That’s when it became about money and the stress that comes with it. Then we had our own kids, and perhaps Grandchildren, told them about Santa, and “poof” our belief is back, that magical feeling. Christmas is magical once again.

Everything changes with belief.

As Susie Walker tells her mother in the final scene of the movie, “Faith is believing, when common sense tells us not to.”

We do remember little Susie Walker received the beautiful house she wanted, a new dad and her swing set. She believed.

Put your faith in God. Believe He is listening.

I don’t remember where I heard/saw this quote, but I love it so much I have it hung up in my Serenity room in my house in Florida.

I love this so much.

“Come to the edge.”

“We can’t, we are afraid.”

“Come to the edge.”

“We can’t, we will fall!”

“Come to the edge.”

And they came.