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In this day and age, believers are challenged to match up their theology (one’s view of God) with reality. A tumbling economy, soaring prices, rising unemployment and a stack of bills may cause every facet of your mind to run wild with anxiety. It is ok, you’re normal. A valid question is, "does God see this and care about this”? It is not easy to acknowledge that a loving, caring God allows such disarray, especially in the life of one of his own children. Quite frankly, a sane person would say that the believer is crazy for believing that God allows such things. Since he is good, he can only allow good, right? However, this boils down to one’s view of God. So let’s go back to the issue of theology for a bit. If I had to draw a comparison, I’d have to use one of my favorite films, The Matrix. There is a scene in it, after Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) mind is freed from the enslavement of the machine world, when Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) takes him to the top of a tall skyscraper. In an effort to help Neo release his mind from being bound by the confines of his surroundings like he was as a slave, he tells him to “free your mind” and proceeds to jump from that building to another one, hundreds of feet away. Neo’s response to this seemingly impossible feat is simply, “whoa”. Here is the parallel, the Holy Spirit is constantly communicating to the heart of the believer to “free our mind” or “take the limits off” of what we believe God can do in our lives. Do you have God in a little box labeled “theology” in the back of your mind? I have to admit that sometimes I do. But then I realize that what’s in that box is not that same God I read about in the Scriptures. This is why that as a believer you have to be a lover of the Word of God. The Scriptures give example after example of God’s endless power. As we spend more time reading his Word we will begin to believe what it says. Our response will no longer be, “whoa”, because our mind can’t comprehend what our eyes see as the impossible. It will be affirmation because we know our God is in control. When our theology (our view of God) remains small and finite we limit what he is willing to do in our lives because of our unbelief (see Matthew 13:58). The same way we are given freedom to choose to sin or not sin, is the same freedom we have to believe God’s power or not. However, when we begin to believe God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (see Ephesians 3:20) we unleash the limitless power of God that changes the heart of kings (see Proverbs 21:1). Amazingly enough, unbelief is a force as powerful as belief. One Greek translation for the word "unbelief" is apeitheia. This is where we get the English word for apathy. It surprises me that such a strong word is used for the choice not to believe. However, the Scriptures provide evidence that even God’s tolerance for indifference is non-existent (see Revelation 3:16). In that passage he speaks to a church that has become relaxed and impassionate in their “zeal” for God’s work. Maybe they lacked the belief that God could accomplish even more than they dreamed. Let it not be so with a child of God. Do not let your trials harden your heart so that you do not believe in God’s power that is waiting to work in your life. As impossible as it sounds, James tells us to count it joy when we encounter trials because we know the trials have purpose in our lives (see James 1:2-3). God controls what we face and he would not allow any circumstance into our lives unless we would be the better for it. Every trial you face as a believer is sifted through the sovereign hands of Almighty God. This is why we can declare that he is in control. This is why we can not only declare it, but believe it also. When your reality confronts your theology in a head on collision, make the choice to believe God and “free your mind” for what God can and will do in your life.

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Psalms 91:13