Reflection: Belief in God
By Jane Lee Wolfe
Many people wonder whether “they believe in God.” Maybe they used to but they don’t know now.
The deal is this: Whether you believe in God doesn’t matter. Does God believe in you? That’s what matters.
Is there a presence that allows you to face the world no matter your state of mind, your body’s health, your spirit’s life?
Answer: The presence is there. Assignment: Return to awareness of it. That is God, believing in you and your life.
Don’t look for God in front of you. God leads mostly from behind; having your back while you step tentatively forward into life, the day, the situation, the people around. Take time to be aware of God’s presence behind you. You don’t have to be aware all the time, but take the time now and then during the day and night.
The trouble with wondering whether you believe in God is that it gets overly mental. Or sometimes, it gets overly emotional.
The trouble with wondering whether you believe in God is that it gets overly mental. Or sometimes, it gets overly emotional. Neither of these “overs” are stable and reliable long term. Your brain hops around discovering new things, rediscovering old ones, thinking about this and that. Your emotions are well known to be unsustainable.
Check in with your spirit. Your spirit is stable and always presents whether you are on top of the world, have crashed to the bottom or are somewhere in between. It’s your spirit that has the direct link to God. It is your spirit, your soul’s energy, that has you joined in relationship to the creator of all things. You are united. Forever.
Also, keep returning to the soul’s awareness of God’s presence behind – God’s belief in you. It is a whole lot richer and more real to believe because God believes in you than to “believe” because you feel you should. This awareness of God’s belief in you is the belief most saints have. They have no idea, and no real interest in exploring ideas, of what they “believe in” when it comes to God. They know God believes in them. That is what they believe, and that is enough.
Remember the story of the guy who wanted his kid healed and Jesus said “believe,” and the guy said, “I believe, help thou my unbelief”? The belief he wanted – and got (the child was healed) – was that awareness of God being with him. Jesus wasn’t talking about some theologically correct set of statements; Jesus was talking about knowing God is with you.
We can all understand the value of being aware of God’s presence behind us. We simply have to practice it. Do you believe in God? Doesn’t matter; you believe God is with you, no description needed. You are aware of God’s presence behind you, with you, any time you take the time. God believes in you, and that is enough belief for all time.