Laying in bed, frustrated at my lack of faith, I turned to the last place I’d read in my Bible – Matthew into Mark. And His Holy Spirit pointed out to me, how Jesus could have cared less what the elites of his day thought of Him. He dealt with criticism from both the religious leaders and the philosophical leaders often without even acknowledging them.
You know what He told me? Stop listening to them. Most of my doubts for my faith come from others …because I’ve heard all of the arguments. And it’s not so much what they say, but who they are.
They are the ones our society upholds as intelligent, that our culture turns to for answers. They are the experts. Who am I to tell them they are wrong? It’s taken me all this time to finally say, “Their opinion doesn’t matter to me.”
I spent my entire life seeking the approval of my teachers, authority figures, and those who set the standards for excellence. It’s so hard for me to break that now. But the Most Excellent One of All is my Father. And He is pleased with faith. “For without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, KJV) He is the only One that matters to me.
That night I had a glorious breakthrough of pure, joyous faith. I care not what the world says of me. Lock me up in the asylum and throw away the key if you must; Jesus cared not for their ridicule, and neither will I. It wasn’t even just that He was confident, so much as it was that He already knew what was true. I do and will know that my Father’s way is the truth, whether they accept that or not. Not because I believe it, but because it just is.
“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God…” -Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
Did you see that? The question won’t be…was I ashamed of God; the question will be, "Was God ashamed of me?"
He is truth, and I don’t ever want Him to be ashamed of me, that I was too willing to believe lies.
Liz Rigby≫ ≫ Liz clutches at whatever writing time she can get when she's not cleaning, laundering, cooking, homeschooling, and otherwise taking care of the love of her life and their three boys. To offset the busy stress of life, Liz loves nothing better than either writing, painting, creating music, or spending time with friends. Having graduated from Bible college and passed through the baby-making phase, Liz is eager for the next step and ministry that God has for her, and is excited to have a part in the Daughter of Delight team, where she hopes her words will point others to His exquisite glory.
For more of Liz's writing visit her blog plungedeep-climbsteep.com, or find her on Instagram @plungedeepclimbsteep.
