An eight-year-old boy wrote in for advice about his doubts. In Touch Ministries, 2013. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch
faith is the confidence that what we
hope for will actually happen without
faith it’s impossible to please God
because to please him we must first
believe that he exists and awards those
who sincerely seeking but what can we do
when we are stuck on this first step
wondering if there even is I God here’s
the good news
God is patient with us thank God he is
he understands he is actually delaying
the return of Christ for SI so that many
more people would come into his kingdom
so what do we do about our doubts he is
a very open and honest email from a
young boy he writes hi I’m 8 sometimes I
don’t believe in God what should I do
well let me say to you young fellah that
I’m honored that you would ask me that
question don’t feel bad about yourself
many people doubt God at some time in
their life especially early in life
people don’t believe in God for many
different reasons for example they say
well I can’t see him even though he has
created everything that exists to see
him would limit him to being a mere
person and God is greater than all of
that they’ve not read the Bible which
explains all about God and so they say
well I don’t understand at all they
haven’t read the book that explains him
not answered a prayer for them how God
works because they don’t know how to
pray because of the influence of other
people in their lives who unbelievers
there are many reasons people don’t
believe in God but no reasonable
explanation exists for the creation of
God and how he works in their life God
is and he is revealed through His Son
Jesus Christ he’s a God of love who has
a plan for your life no matter how young
you may be he will show you his will and
his plan to guide you throughout your
life he will provide for you everything
that you need in his own time he will
protect you in difficult situations
that’s who he is and I think in my own
life about my own personal experience
and I think about the person
experiences of other people you’ll have
a personal experience with God he won’t
be somebody who’s out yonder over here
and I’m not sure now because he wants to
reveal himself to you and oftentimes
that becomes in our life a reality very
gradually
for example I’ve been a Christian for 68
years I’m 80 so I’ve been a Christian
for 68 years walking with him listening
to him learning who his he’s become my
personal friend and I can answer your
question but simply saying this if you
ask him to help you believe in him
believe me God will reveal himself to
you you say well what do i do well one
of the first things you can do is
throughout reading the Bible and you can
start in the first two chapters of
genesis of all about creation then you
might want to read the Book of Luke for
example chapter 2 about the birth of
Jesus the Savior then you might want to
turn the Gospel of John about salvation
or maybe in the Psalms you’ve heard the
23rd psalm so start there or some other
thumbs and just ask God to help you
understand what he’s saying to you ask
him to help you believe in him expect
him to answer that prayer you know why
because he wants to answer that prayer
and when you begin to pray to him God is
going to begin to speak to your heart
you’re going to begin to sense this
intimate relationship with him that you
never knew before so let me give you my
personal experience when I was growing
up
I didn’t know a whole lot about God in
fact I knew very little about him and
nobody ever sat down and explained to me
who God is and so I went to church and
listen to sermons but it very early
years I didn’t understand what that was
about and then the pastor of the church
came to see me and I was a little bit
intimidated at first but he said Charles
I want to talk to you about God and
about your salvation and about Jesus and
so I listened very carefully but I
didn’t understand a lot of it but when
he walked away I began to think about
what he said and I thought well Lord it
if all of this is real you got to show
me this help me to understand and here’s
what happened I began to read the Word
of God I didn’t understand a lot of it
at first but as I began to read I began
to feel the presence of God and the more
I read the more I felt that presence
till it became a strong presence and
then I wanted to pray I didn’t know all
about answered prayer and all the things
are involved in that but I knew that
something was happening in my own heart
and as I began to pray and listen my
belief in him became stronger and
stronger
I believed that Jesus Christ was the son
of God I believed what the Bible said
about the cross and at the age of 12 I
accepted Jesus Christ as my personal
Savior from that moment on I have never
doubted him one bit and I can tell you
this God is a real God he’s an awesome
God the creator of all things and one
who loves you absolutely and completely
he’ll be in you with you and upon you
all the days of your life once you trust
him as your Savior don’t listen to
unbelievers and skeptics and doubters
you read the Word of God and ask God
Lord I want you to speak to my heart
make yourself real to me God I promise
your young man God will answer that
prayer he says they that seek me will
find me and that’s what you’re doing at
this point in your life you’re seeking
to know him God will reveal himself to
you well I’m so glad that you joined us
today for in touch trusting God is
putting faith into action and it means
looking beyond what you can see to all
that God sees