Keep On Believing

It has been said that a man is what he eats. Someone else said that a man is what he reads. Still another has said that a man is what he thinks. The proverbial writer said, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." What the editor is saying is that you are not only what you consume physically or what you conceptualize or internalize mentally, but you are also and foremost, what you believe in your heart.

If you believe you can, then you can. If you believe you cannot, than you cannot. Everything we do from the simplest acts to the most complex tasks require we believe in ourselves and in our ability to perform. You may not have given it much thought, but before you can get out of bed, or lift a fork to your mouth or speak a word; before you can memorize a poem or drive a car or learn how to use the internet; before you can quit drinking or overeating or any other habit - you must first believe that you can and have enough faith to believe in God and in the power of Jesus to help you through. We are what we believe.

You probably recall the story of the white man who sold ice in the black community. A young black man observed what the white man was doing and decided that he could go into business and do the same thing. He produced a quality product at a lower cost and even gave better service. Soon all the black folks were buying their ice from him - except one old lady. Try as he might, he just could not persuade the old lady to buy his ice. Finally, in exasperation, he asked her why she refused to give him her business. And she responded, "Son, it has nothing to do with you personally, but I believe the white man's ice is just a little bit better than yours." As long as we believe that other's ice is colder we will never achieve our goals.

What we must realize is that there is power in belief and powerlessness in disbelief. Remember when Jesus went home to Nazareth? He did not perform any mighty acts there as He had in other towns. It wasn't because the power that had worked elsewhere would not work there; it was not because the people there did not need the healing power of Christ and it was not because Jesus doubted His own abilities. It was because of the people's disbelief.

Abraham was a great man because he had a great faith. Scripture informs us that Abraham believed God. He did not kill any giants like David; he did not write any proverbs as Solomon did, he did not confront any pharaohs or dispense any laws as Moses did, he was not a learned scribe as Ezra or a great builder Like Nehemiah, but Abraham believed God. He did not have Samson's strength or Mordecai's political insight; he did not command the sun to stand still as Joshua did or defeat any armies as Gideon did. Abraham did not walk through the fire as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; he did not spend any time in a lion's den as Daniel did, but Abraham believed God. He did not dream any dreams like Joseph, see any visions like Ezekiel and he did not proclaim the Messiah's coming as did Isaiah or call forth fire from heaven as Elijah did. Abraham just believed God.

If you are wondering how you can keep on believing when everything is turning against you. If you are wondering how you can go on when you can barely make ends meet. If you are wondering how you can hold your head up when your world is falling apart.

I recommend you that you keep on believing in spite of your circumstances. Keep on believing in spite what people say or do. Keep on believing even when like Abraham, you do not know what is happening or why it is happening. God always has another ram in the bush for those who exercise faith in Him; those who love Him enough to believe Him in spite of everything and through it all.

I am reminded of the story of a ship that was caught in a storm so fierce the passengers had to put on life jackets. One of the passengers scurrying around found a little boy sitting by himself and playing with a toy truck. He seemed totally oblivious of all that was going on around him. The concerned passenger ran up to him and said, "Son, you must put on your life jacket, we are in a terrible storm." The little boy looked up at the passenger and said, "Thank you sir, but I'm not worried because my daddy is the captain of the ship."

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available in July.

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