Hi all. This is my second blog. I appreciate your hanging in there with me. I am hoping you are finding hope in G-d at this time. Even if you do not believe in G-d or the Messiah, that is okay. Keep reading. I also want to write again for my Jewish brothers and sisters. Specifically to let them know why I, a Jewish woman, came to believe in the Messiah of the Christian faith; and I will give three reasons for why I came to believe in Him (or why my faith strengthened in Him).
I came to believe in the Messiah without having read most of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament; perhaps this is an unusual way. I slowly came to believe in the Messiah when I started reading a book by Dr. Charles Stanley (title in my first blog). In my reading of this book, I noticed my life experiences seemed similar to what was described in the book (I would not have guessed this since I had not read the New Testament; I would have felt very guilty about doing so). The first reason, therefore, for my coming to faith in the Messiah is because of the way trials were looked at in the NT; that we will have trials and G-d will use these for good (Romans 8:28); this resonated with me.
In times of suffering I could see that my suffering had a purpose in G-d’s plan and helped me to get closer to Him. Dr. Stanley says people can suffer from circumstances because of the sin of others or our own sin; or we can suffer because of tragedies. G-d does not cause tragedies or the sin of other’s to happen but at times they do happen; and these unfortunate situations can help us grow in faith and forgiveness; if we keep our eyes on Him.
In the NT; the Messiah says “blessed are the people who are poor in Spirit and who are mourning” (Matthew 5:3). It is because their humility helps them get closer to G-d. I have felt on many occasions when I was in grief; I got closer to Him. I reached out to Him many times for comfort and He was always there. Even when we do not feel Him; it is promised in the Bible that He is there. Also when I suffered from my trials, they made me stronger and put me more in line with G-d’s will for me. We are part of a broken world, and our suffering can also help us give to other’s the comfort we received from the Messiah; this fits the principle that the suffering, in this case, is being used for good.
The second reason has to do with why my faith in the Messiah strengthened; it is because I started feeling His peace when I was spending time with Him. I have suffered with anxiety in this world; the peace I felt in my heart from knowing Him I had never experienced before my relationship with Him. Having a relationship with Him brings us joy as He is our comforter, our helper, and and our teacher. In my faith in Him, I am never alone; knowing this brings me a feeling of security, as He is my rock, which is important to feel in the world we live in today.
The world looks at suffering differently than G-d does; the world wants us to believe we have to feel good all the time. But this is one of the lies of the world; and is not true. We cannot feel good the way the world wants us to feel (I hope to write more about this) but we can feel good in the Messiah; it is written in His Word that the peace we receive from Him is not the peace we receive from the world (John 14:27).
I want to add, so no one compares themselves to my experiences; His peace did not happen quickly for me (and is not all the time but is more than how it was before my faith in Him). I had to be willing to wait for Him and also to give up my old life; meaning give up the unG-dly things my flesh was drawn to. In my experience this is a constant process. If I give up those things in my flesh I am drawn to; I am greatly rewarded. The reason is I now have a friend and a comforter in the Messiah. He has helped me with some difficult times; I discussed in my first blog I went through a break up of a 12 year relationship. This was very difficult for me. Now I am happy it happened because I got closer to Him and it caused me to turn to Him for comfort. This is one of the many cases He used my suffering for good.
My third reason, also for my increasing faith in Him, is because in reading the word of G-d, in particular the Old Testament (I started reading it in full recently ), I am further convinced the Messiah is who He says He is. There are many references in the Old Testament to the Messiah of the Christian faith; particularly through the Word of the prophets who speak about Him (I will talk about the ways reading the Old Testament helped me strengthen my faith in the Messiah, in my third blog). In addition, I had some practice using the Word of G-d before then; I had an experience where I would say a particular scripture before I went to an internship I was doing (I read the scripture to give me strength to be able to complete a goal that was set as I was concerned I would not complete it). The scripture I said gave me the strength to do the work and to complete it.
G-d can and does open people’s eyes; there are a lot of references in the Bible that people may be blinded to the truth. I know I was in a lot of denial before I came to faith in Him; and I am grateful He opened my eyes. This can take some time; and my eyes are still being opened; as I can still have denial. I pray in all my heart that you will seek G-d. You can talk to him and ask Him to open your eyes. In His word He says, “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).