I Believe In Stuff Like That
While on the NYC subway recently, I overheard a conversation a few strangers were having. They apparently discovered something in common throughout the course of their conversation and one man said it must have been “a sign”. He said, “I believe in stuff like that.” While I believe in divine appointments, what the man meant was that he believes in random signs, or really superstition.
The trouble with “believing in stuff like that” is that there’s so much confusion in what to believe. Sadly, most people have ascribed superstition to God. In this, lines get blurred and people forget who God really is and what He really does. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33, that “…God is not the author of confusion”. Never in the Bible do we see God sending a sign that either wasn’t expected or wasn’t explained. God doesn’t send random signs to random people with no purpose. God speaks about the kind of signs He would give when Jesus gave the great commission in Mark chapter 16. Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” The signs of God would be healing, speaking with new tongues, devils cast out, and supernatural safety and protection. There’s nothing random in that. Yes, any sign from God will be confirmed in His Word, the Holy Bible.
The trouble with “believing in stuff like that” is that it’s really not believing in anything at all. See, if we don’t believe in something, we’ll believe in anything, and most of that won’t be good. If we don’t believe in who He is, none of what we believe is by faith because you can’t have faith in God unless you believe in Who He IS. Even God’s people, those who call themselves Christians, subscribe to supernatural signs that God doesn’t send. In the New Testament we see an account of the Pharisees, the religious people of the time, seeking after signs from Heaven, though the Lord was right their in their midst. Matthew 16:4 says, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” What Jesus meant here was that the account of Jonah in the belly of the big fish for three days was symbolic of what Jesus was about to fulfill. These Pharisees would have preferred superstition to a relationship with the real Messiah. The real sign from Heaven was Jesus, but they couldn’t see it.
If we’re not careful, we’ll be the same way. The Lord gave us His Word, He gave us His son, He gave us His Spirit, and He invited us to learn about Him, have a relationship with Him, and walk out this life with Him. I believe in that. That’s what I believe in. And believing in that, that’s where the power of this life is found. Believing in Him is where our hope, our strength, our help, and our peace is found. Romans 10:11, “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” It’s a blessed life following Him. Let’s follow Him and take Him at His Word. Amen?
Be Blessed,
Pastor Renee
