Sharks Aren’t in Indiana….Right?

I have an irrational fear of sharks.

Trust me, I know the facts:

• We live in landlocked Indiana 
• Most sharks can only live in salt water
• There is a higher chance of being killed by a lawnmower than by a shark (according to PETA)

Even with this logic, I still can’t shake my fear because there is a big difference between knowing and believing. Sadly, head knowledge versus heart belief isn’t just directed at irrational fears...

• We know that God will provide for us, but we keep ourselves as busy as possible because we don’t believe it
• We know God loves us and calls us worthy, but the way we treat ourselves doesn’t match up
• We know God created everyone with dignity and value, but the way we talk about others doesn’t reflect true belief

So, how can we transition from knowledge to belief in all areas of life?  

Knowledge is a collection of facts, education, and information. We all have knowledge, but not all of us have belief. To believe something is to both accept a fact to be true and put all faith and trust into its truthfulness because of experience. In my life, the times when my knowledge of God moved into true belief of His character and principles was when I experienced those things firsthand.

I knew God to be faithful, but I didn’t truly believe and accept it until He showed Himself to be a consistent source of comfort when my friend’s dad was battling cancer.

I knew my identity was in Christ, but I didn’t believe it until I wrestled with letting go of other aspects in my life that had a hold on my self-worth.

I knew God changes lives and can do the impossible, but I didn’t believe it until I watched one of my best friends be baptized after years of wrestling with her faith.

God does call us to believe in Him and have “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). However, I think after an initial step of faith into salvation, most of us learn facts about God but don’t truly add them to our faith core. God wants to help us move beyond head knowledge and truly accept all that He is for ourselves so that we can have heart belief.

Let’s each resolve to finally believe something about God, ourselves, or sharks (in my case) that we have maybe known but not truly believed. In the following prayers, fill in the blank for yourself:

“God, I know that You are ________, but I don’t always believe it. Please reveal Yourself to me and help me to accept what You say about me, others, and Yourself as truth. Amen.”

“God, You have created me to be ________, but lately I've been struggling. Please help me to believe it and see it in myself and others. Amen.”