Bedrock

CONFESSION:
Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6

Lord, Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  You are unchanging, but our level of faith, and what we truly believe, can be all over the map.  It’s the middle of the night and this thought refuses to leave me.  It’s the thought that our deepest convictions about what we believe about You are revealed in our choices and how we treat one another.

When we are mistreated and we respond in kind, we are declaring our belief that You will not defend us, and we must avenge ourselves.  When we are stressed and reach for food, alcohol or some other drug, we are saying that we do not believe that You will comfort us, so we must comfort ourselves.  When finances are tight and we are tempted to cheat on our taxes, we are revealing that we don’t trust that You will provide for our needs.  When we spend money we don’t have to buy things we can’t afford, we declare that we do not believe that You can help us to find happiness or contentment without it, or that You might bless us with something beyond our financial ability to afford.  When we are unhappy with our current situation and manipulate to get our way, we are saying that we think we know better than You do, and either You are negligent, lacking in compassion or less loving than we are, or that You are incapable of changing our circumstances or our perception of them.  And when we work seven days without honoring You by taking a Sabbath rest, we are saying that we can’t trust You to help us to get things done in less time.

The examples are endless, but I am coming to the realization, rather late in life, that other than natural disasters, accidents and unexpected occurrences, just about everything else that is a mess in our lives comes down to faulty beliefs, (held by we ourselves, someone else, or both), about You, Your power, Your goodness or faithfulness.  This is all just one step deeper in thinking about my choices and behaviors than I have been willing to entertain before.  Until now I have just looked at the surface seeing that, “I want... I must... I feel...”  Only now am I looking deeper as to the underlying beliefs that provide the framework for those thoughts and feelings, that lead to actions.


Father, I lift my friend.  I pray for us both.  Reveal to us our faulty and warped beliefs about:  who You are, Your goodness, power, faithfulness, justice, generosity, creativity, patience, compassion, wisdom, kindness, forgiveness and love.  Expose the underlying, broken framework of our beliefs that keep us stuck, hopeless, discontented and self medicating.  Through the Word, our quiet times, conversations, nature and circumstances, shine Your light of truth.  Tear down our false beliefs.  Take us down to the bedrock.  Then rebuild our framework of belief, starting at the Cornerstone of truth.  How much different our world, and our very lives, would be if we believed and knew You as You truly are, Lord.  Give us a revelation, Father.  Then, when we see You as You truly are, so many of our pleading prayers will simply fall away and be replaced by praise, as we realize that we can rest in You.  Father, we believe.  We want to believe.  Help our unbelief.  And in the process, help us to change our choices and our treatment of one another.  In Jesus Name ❤️

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