Just Believe

I was recently shopping for Christmas cards online. You know, the kinds you put your family photos into? It's nice they've made them so you can put multiple photos on them now because it's impossible to get a photo with the Nathaniel, the dog and my husband all looking at the camera at once, not to mention smiling. Then of course, if there is a good one of all of them it's guaranteed my eyes are closed or I'm looking at them trying to get them to smile. Anyway, as I searched for a card this year I came across a lot that simply said "Believe". What a beautiful theme word for advent. Unfortunately too often our minds travel to Santa when we think about believing at Christmas time, but what we are really believing in is Jesus. That over 2000 years ago our God came down to earth as a helpless child because he loved us that much.

Today if you read Mt 9:27-31 you'll read about two blind men who come to Jesus for healing. Before he heals them, he asks them "'Do you believe that I can do this?' 'Yes, Lord,' they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said 'Let it be done for you according to your faith.'"

When we pray, when we ask our God for healing, when we ask for so much, what would our answer be if he were to ask us the same question He asked those blind men? Do we believe He can heal our hurts? The darkest, deepest wounds we won't let anyone else see? Do we believe He can fix our broken hearts? Do we believe that He can make us holy, even us who have sinned so much? Do we believe He is the answer to every question, the purpose of life, our entire reason for being?

What an amazing thing to believe in, that we are that important to our God. The people of Jesus' time had waited so long for a savior, many stopped believing, stopped looking for him, and then missed him when he was standing right in front of them. Their trials were too big, their problems too difficult, they quit believing He would come because they felt let down so many other times. But some people didn't stop believing. Some endured hardship after hardship and still trusted that their God would come to save them. Some, like these two blind men, were healed and changed forever. I promise that no problem is too difficult, no hurt is too big, no heart is too broken for him to heal. We just have to believe that he will come, and let him open our eyes so we can see Him when He's right in front of us.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is "Do we believe?"