Hope you all had a great weekend. The weather in Sweden is finally starting to change as the warm summer evenings slowly makes place for the autumn winds and rain. We have had a good summer in Sweden this year and are preparing for the long winter which lay ahead of us.
This brings me to the topic for this week – faith. I don’t know about you but there are certain stories in the Bible that really inspire me to want to read further and discover more of the wonders and mysteries of God. The Bible tells the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who had everything this world says one should have to feel happy and satisfied with life: power, wealth, influence, and fame. But along with that came an emptiness that sent him on a search for God in a foreign country.
As secretary of the treasury for a powerful nation, he was second only to the queen. But there was emptiness in his heart, so it led him on a search to the spiritual capital of the world, Jerusalem. The sad thing is that he did not find what he was looking for in Jerusalem, but as he was returning home, he unexpectedly found the answer to his questions through Philip one of the seven deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 6). Little did the eunuch know that God would send Philip to help him understand the central message of the Bible and which would result in his conversion and complete transformation.
I like this story because in a sense it shows what happens in the life of a person who becomes a Christ-follower. You see when someone truly believes in Jesus Christ, his or her life changes dramatically. One might even say that the Ethiopian eunuch’s life went from emptiness and misery to overflowing joy. The story ends with these wonderful words; “He went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). Perhaps he was singing and dancing all at the same time.
What an incredible experience when we meet Jesus for the first time. The Bible describes it as literally passing from darkness to light when we believe and accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior. It is describing what actually takes place in our lives. Despite this incredible story we also need to understand that not everybody reacts the same way to God as the eunuch did. There are different types of people who come to faith in different ways. That is the beauty and strength of the Gospel. Some have a tremendous emotional response, while others have no emotional experience at all.
With regards to our emotions and the part they play I would like to suggest that an emotional experience has very little to do with the reality of a person's conversion. Let me explain: When I was a teenager and going through a tough time in life I was introduced to a Pentecostal church. I still remember the pastor inviting everybody to give their lives to Christ and I responded by going forward. I felt so alone and lost and reached out to God. But when I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my life, I felt nothing stir within me.
I was at least expecting to hear the voice of God, but nothing happened. And because of this, I wrongly concluded that God was not interested in me. Thankfully many years later I discovered that Christianity is a walk of faith and not based solely on feelings or scientifically proven facts. While there certainly is a place for feelings it all starts with faith – with trust.
This Weeks Challenge:
Are you relying on your feelings or are you relying on faith?
Remember if you are relying on your feelings all the time, then the devil is going to do his best to get you feeling terrible most of the time, trying to convince you that you are a failure until you are totally defeated and alone. I have come to realize that how I (we) “feel” isn't necessarily that important in regards to living by faith. The Bible reminds us:”Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
God bless
Berny