When you are told to believe, do not turn your attention from Christ to your part of believing.
In other words, avoid morbid introspection. Do not dig up the seed of your little faith several times a day to see if it is growing. If you so do, you will definitely inhibit its growth.
Keep your spiritual eyes away from self and focused on Christ and His finished work in your behalf. Then your heart will believe without knowing it.
Jesus Himself told us in John 3 to look at Him, just as the Israelites did when in the time of Moses they were bitten by deadly poisonous snakes. Instead of looking in horror at the progressive advance of the poison in their bodies, they raised their eyes and looked away from themselves on God’s solution to the problem, a bronze snake, lifted high on a pole, that God had instructed Moses to erect. All that so did, were instantly and totally healed.
Jesus became sin, our sin, on the cross. He became like that snake on a pole. In His death, we were executed with the maximum penalty. Consequently don’t put your faith in your act of faith. Instead, look to Christ dying on the cross for you. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Only Jesus makes and perfects your faith. This is God’s marvelous plan of drawing your soul out of itself and its sins, by giving you a Savior on Calvary–a target for your attention outside yourself. Then the Lord comes inside you and does the work within you. Simply abide in Him. He will abide in you. Live inside the One that lives inside true born-again Christians.
Sometimes, when a sinner has repented and Christ becomes his Savior, the devil comes around and spurs the one who has preached Christ to him to unwisely emphasize: “Now you must believe.” This causes the attention of the new believer to turn to his part, of believing, and he goes home worrying about: “How can I believe?” In this unsuspecting way, many have fallen into years of darkness and real unbelief. Their heart had received the Gospel, and they were already believing, until they were told they must believe! Five years or more have sometimes passed, struggling to believe, instead of looking to the finished work of Christ. It has often been observed that, in dealing with souls, when you turn their attention to their act of faith, they become fog-bound and paralyzed by an impotent feeling that they “cannot.”
So how to believe?
God has provided a better way, He has given us the Sacred Scriptures, the Bible, the Word of God. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” You do not make your own faith. It comes from outside. It comes to you by hearing the Word of God. For example, I will now share with you a wonderful portion of God’s Word. As you read it, God Himself will be speaking this to you deep in your innermost. Trust Him. God is alive and He speaks in His Word. Then you can answer Him, you can pray. Just as reading God’s Word is God Himself talking to you, praying is you talking to God. God and you can thus converse. You can talk with God in His very own words. Read this portion of the Word of God. You will notice that after the Scripture portion there is a prayer. If you wish, you can make it your prayer, for it responds to what God is telling You in His Word. God is speaking this portion to you. Then speak it back to Him, as a prayer.
Scripture Reading:
“From: Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ’s missionary, and from brother Sosthenes.
To: The Christians in Corinth, invited by God to be His people and made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.
And to: All Christians everywhere–whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you all of His blessings, and great peace of heart and mind.
I can never stop thanking God for all the wonderful gifts He has given you, now that you are Christ’s:
He has enriched your whole life. He has helped you speak out for Him and has given you a full understanding of the truth; what I told you Christ could do for you has happened!
Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing His will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And He guarantees right up to the end that you will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when He returns.
God will surely do this for you, for He always does just what He says, and He is the one that invited you into this wonderful friendship with His Son, even Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:1-9 The Living Bible.)
Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for this personal message from You to me, through Your missionary, the Apostle Paul. Thank You, God, that You have personally invited me to be one of Your very own people and You have made me acceptable to You by Christ Jesus. Thank You that this definitely includes me because it is for all Christians everywhere–whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Yes, I CALL upon Your Name, Lord Jesus! You are my Lord and my Savior!
God, You are now my Father. These words of Paul, are really Your Words to me through Paul, so I speak them back to You in prayer: May You give me all of Your blessings and great peace of heart and mind. Thank You, I receive this!
I can never stop thanking You, God, for all the wonderful gifts You have given me, now that I belong to Christ:
You have enriched my whole life. You have helped me and will continue to help me to speak out for You. You have given me a full understanding of the truth. Thank You, Heavenly Father, I receive it! What You have told me that Christ could do for me has happened!
Now I can have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing Your will are mine during this time of waiting for the return of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ. You said so and You cannot lie! I receive it. Thank You!
Thank You that You guarantee right up to the end that I will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when Your Son returns.
Thank You, Heavenly Father, that You will surely do this for me, for You always do just what You say. After all, You are the One that invited me into this wonderful friendship with Your Son, Christ my Lord! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
From Communing With God – Chapter 5