Helping my unbelief.

"It is what you believe that shapes your life, not necessarily your thoughts." I heard that somewhere on internet-radio recently and it rang true for me. It is easy to change a thought; it is much more difficult to change a belief. Maxwell Maltz said, "Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs." This sounds a lot like what Jesus claimed to the world. A belief is the mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something. English author Robert Bolt said that "A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind."

This left me with the question: What possesses my mind? What holds me back from recognizing my life and God within me, or what propels me forward into living life in the dominion of God? What dictates to me who I am and what I become? Some times those beliefs that possess a person can agitate, agonize and annoy or they can tease, terrify, terrorize and torment one’s life.

I am good at examining my thoughts, but I am not so sure how well I examine my beliefs. Beliefs are almost sacred. No wonder the dominant power wanted to killed Jesus. One of the reasons I love Jesus is that he came as a rebel against hate and persecution and to exorcise those beliefs that dominated the hearts of society and to began a revolution by announcing God’s presence in the now. For those on the outside, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God within them and the restoration of the belief that they are valued and of worth for the air they breathe. They are loved with a love that they did not earn and can never lose. When one begins to believe that they are one of the Beloved’s the world takes one a new face. For those who assumed they had control of God’s Kingdom due to possessing the "right beliefs", he called them to turn from the beliefs that fed their pride, arrogance, and injustice-- and tore apart humanity and destroyed the dignity of others. When our beliefs about ourselves, our neighbor, and God begin to change our actions follow; when we move from fear to love not only are we transformed, but the world is also. Oh God, I believe, help my unbelief.