This post has been adapted from the chapter, “Lie #7: God Can Set Others Free from Pornography Addiction, but Not Me,” in my new book, 10 Lies Men Believe about Porn. This is part 2 in an 8-week series on life-changing faith. If you would like to begin at part 1, you can do that here.
We often think the key to following Jesus is simply to believe in Him. But if belief were all that mattered, even the demons would be saved. The demons may believe in God, but they don’t trust Him. They don’t have faith—an absolute trust that everything the Word of God says is true.
A well-known story tells of a tightrope walker entertaining a crowd at Niagara Falls. At first, he simply walked across a cable strung above the waterfall, but as the crowd grew, he continued to up the stakes. He did a lap while juggling and another lap blindfolded. He even rode a bike across the line. The crowd watched in amazement, wondering what he would attempt next.
As he returned back to the side of the river where many had gathered to watch, he got off his bike and pulled out a wheelbarrow. He then turned to address the crowd.
“Do you believe I can walk across this tightrope without falling?”
“Yes!” roared the crowd.
“Do you believe I can walk across this tightrope while pushing this wheelbarrow?”
“We do!” they yelled.
“Do you believe I can walk across this tightrope while pushing this wheelbarrow with someone riding in it?”
The crowd went nuts. They couldn’t wait to see this trick.
“Then who would like to volunteer to be my rider?”
Silence.
Every person in the crowd may have believed he could do it, but no one was willing to trust him by getting into the wheelbarrow. So in reality, even though they said they believed he could do it, their lack of trust proved they didn’t.
This distinction is important to understand: What you say you believe is not necessarily what you do believe. Even what you think you believe may not be what you truly believe. What you do and what you trust are what exposes your true beliefs. In this way, faith is belief that is backed by trust and therefore results in action.
Everybody has faith in something. For many, it’s faith in their own wisdom or abilities. For others, it’s faith in a religion or in rituals. But if your true faith isn’t in Jesus, it will never result in a changed life. That’s because faith is only as strong as its object, and the only “object” that has the power to change you is Jesus.
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We see this misplaced faith in the Pharisees all throughout the Gospels. These men trusted in their knowledge of the Scriptures and their ability to follow the Law to give them life. They studied the Scriptures diligently, but when they met Jesus, they refused to take the next step by putting their faith in Him:
You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want (John 5:39–40 MSG)
These men believed the Scriptures, but when Jesus asked them to trust in Him to find the life they were looking for, they chose not to get in the wheelbarrow.
Just like these Pharisees, if you believe in Jesus but don’t trust Him enough to do what He’s asking you to do, you will keep looking for other things to make you feel like you are actually following Him. But you will miss out on the blessings of knowing Christ. Not because His blessings are not true, but because you are looking for ways to receive them without actually trusting Him.
Many people interpret this lack of blessing
as a sign that Jesus isn’t working for them.
In reality, it’s a sign that they aren’t trusting
in Him—they are still trusting in themselves.
Please don’t interpret this as a call to buck up and try harder. You may be thinking, I just need to work up some more faith! I need to follow God’s rules better! These may sound like the righteous things to do, but by doing them you would be putting your faith back on yourself and your own ability to please God. None of us will ever be able to generate more faith on our own, though, because faith is a gift that God gives to you.
So if you feel the need for more faith, don’t try to muster it up on your own. Pray like the man who approached Jesus, asking Him to free his son from demonic oppression:
“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Continue to Part 3: Why Isn’t God Coming Through for Me?
