Why Won’t They Believe?

Note from Jesus

Dear Disciple,

Some of you will be frustrated and hurt because people you know and love will choose not to believe in Me as Savior. Some will talk about intellectual doubts. Others will talk about life’s hurts and will wonder where We — Father, Son, and Spirit — were in the middle of their hurts. Some will say they have a hard time believing something they think the Bible says because they view it as a book of myths and superstitions. Others will see Christians who are weak and stumble, or who are hypocrites, and say they want no part of a religion like that. Some will say they just can’t believe in the miracles and My resurrection that they read about in Scripture.

These reactions and feelings that you find frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking are not new. I faced the same thing. As you read about the events below, remember that I had done two “nature altering” miracles — I fed more than 5,000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish as well as walked on the water to the disciples in their boat caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Most of the people in the area knew of at least one of these miracles — that’s why they were back trying to get something else from Me. Many of them were also puzzling over the possibility of another miracle: How had I crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to be with My disciples without a boat? But before they would do the one thing I told them truly was “God’s work” — to believe in Me as the One the Father had sent, they wanted another miracle to show I was someone special. In other words, they saw or heard about the great works I had done, but refused to believe until they received the miracle they wanted from Me.

My precious disciple, please hear Me: Some people don’t believe because they won’t believe. Another miracle wouldn’t have convinced most of the skeptics in the crowd you read about below. They were there for what they could get for free, not because they saw the sign that I had done and realized that it pointed to My identity as the Son of God.

No one wants people saved more than We (Father, Son, and Spirit) do. No one’s heart breaks more than Our heart at the refusal of people to believe. I left the Father to share grace, offer hope, and bring true life to the people of your world. Some, however, refuse to receive that grace.

Don’t burn up all your time and energy trying to convince people who refuse to believe. But don’t give up on them. Invite the Spirit to work on their hearts and in their circumstances. Live before them in a way that is good, gracious, and genuine.

However, My dear disciple, please realize that you cannot make them believe, and I won’t force them to believe. Faith has to be chosen freely to be faith; do not use force or coercion on anyone, or it is not genuine faith!

As much as you want someone to believe, you do not have the power to make it happen. Give that work over to the Spirit. Be ready as you look for the opportunity when the Spirit prompts you to reach out to that person you want to believe.

A lot of folks in my day didn’t believe in Me until after My death, burial, and resurrection. Others didn’t believe until their lives came crashing down around them and they realized they needed help bigger than their circumstances. So be a real friend and a genuinely loved one of the people you want to believe. Be faithful and patient in loving them, but not pushing them or annoying them. Look for that moment of grace orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Then, share your story of grace and let them know about Me.

Remember what your “work” truly is. You must truly believe. You must trust that I AM the Son of God, your Savior and Lord, and then live that faith graciously before others. Your faith guarantees that your life is bound up with Me for eternity. It also gives you the best opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those you love.

Verses to Live

As you read today’s verses, remember what I told people was the true work that God wanted them to do: believe in Me! Please remember, if people you know and love are looking for a sign before they believe in Me — like the people in the verses below — then you and your faithfulness to Me may be the sign that they most need. Then, be patient… faithful… gracious… and ready to share your love and My grace with those you want to see come to faith.

The following day [after Jesus had walked on the water] some people gathered on the other side of the sea and saw that only one boat had been there; they were perplexed. They remembered seeing the disciples getting into the boat without Jesus.

Other boats were arriving from Tiberias near the grassy area where the Lord offered thanks and passed out bread. When this crowd could not find Him or His disciples, they boarded their small boats and crossed the sea to Capernaum looking for Him. When they found Jesus across the sea, they questioned Him.

Crowd:

Teacher, when did You arrive at Capernaum?

Jesus:

I tell you the truth — you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on Whom God the Father has placed His seal.

Crowd:

What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?

Jesus:

If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.

Crowd:

Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

Jesus:

I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father Who offers you true bread from heaven. The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.

Crowd:

Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.

Jesus:

I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty. Here I am standing in front of you, and still you don’t believe. All that My Father gives to Me comes to Me. I will receive everyone; I will not send away anyone who comes to Me. And here’s the reason: I have come down from heaven not to pursue My own agenda but to do what He desires. I am here on behalf of the Father Who sent Me. He sent Me to care for all He has given Me so that nothing and no one will perish. In the end, on the last day, He wants everything to be resurrected into new life. So if you want to know the will of the Father, know this: everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will live eternally; and on the last day, I am the One Who will resurrect him.

(John 6:22-40)

Response in Prayer

Father, there are some people I very much want to see come to believe in Jesus and dedicate themselves to Him. I need the Spirit to be at work in their lives and in their circumstances, and in me to be a faithful witness to them. Please give me the eyes to see the moments when I need to speak to them about faith and the times when I need to be silent. Please help my life to be a living testimony of faith that consistently points them to Jesus as the basis of grace, hope, and life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware.

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.