Affirm Belief

All things are possible to him who believes – Mark 9:23

The above quote is easily one of my favorites in the Bible. It also comes from one of my favorite stories in the New Testament. A man asks Jesus to heal his son “if he can”. Jesus questions him..”if I can”? like..are you kidding me? Don’t you know I can do anything?

As much as I enjoy the above story, there are many times where it hits me right between the eyes. There are many times where I pray “if you can” prayers. There are other times where I lack the faith needed to make all things possible.

A question I’ve often asked and you may be asking right now is..how do I change this? How do I develop the belief necessary to make all things possible? I have found that there are two main ways..

1. Ask – Simply ask God for it. This has always been a bit ironic for me. I’m supposed to ask God for things with the faith that He’ll do it. So how can I actually ask Him for faith? Sounds weird, but He is ready and willing to help us increase our faith. In the story above, after Jesus rebukes the man’s “if you can” statement and says all things are possible, the man asks Him for this very faith to make all things possible. In the next verse he specifically asks, “please help me overcome my unbelief!”
2. Positive affirmations – Besides divine help, I am convinced God has given us the will and ability to help ourselves. I also believe he expects us to use it. One way I’ve learned to do this is by positive affirmations. I often discuss the benefits of positive affirmations on this blog. If you don’t already know, they are simple positive statements you say to yourself over and over until you begin to believe it. These statements can be extremely simple. For example, in his book “The Power of Positive Thinking”, Norman Vincent Peale says the best way to stop worrying and have faith is to simply say to yourself, “I believe” over and over and over again. If you think it doesn’t work, then try it. I have used this technique many times in stressful situations, and in some cases it’s as if the stress magically disappears. Other simple phrases work just as well, especially other Bible verses like the one I began this article with.

The bottom line is that the more your brain hears these statements, you feel the corresponding emotion, and take inspired action, you believe it. These thoughts then become part of you and your being. These thoughts replace the thoughts of worry and unbelief. What happens next is that it affects the action you take. In fact, if you let unbelief linger you often take no action because you are afraid of failure. When your mind is full of faithful thoughts, you instead are convinced of success and will take the action quickly to make it happen.

If you want the results you are seeking in life, affirm belief and faith. Say it and see it in your mind. Then watch it unfold on the big screen of your life. The coolest thing is that, once you see these positive results, it only increases your level of belief, and more great things happen. Believe me, I can totally affirm that this is true. Enjoy the blessings : )