How I know God is real.

The first I knew of God was when as a child my mother would recite the Lords prayer, and as I grew up I (like most) decided I was the centre of the universe and could handle my own life with ease. No problem, just get as much money, sex and good times as I could and all would be just fine. Well I achieved all that in no time at all, and by the age of thirty I was sitting pretty, rich, all the sex I could handle (as perverse as it was), and good times left right and centre. I was happy as Larry so who needs God? Well that’s where the law of the universe came into play, you know, once you have used up all your credits (what God gives you free of charge), its downhill from there, no more freebies, and from now on its “what comes around, goes around”.

Without going into all the gory details of my past, I simply went from bad (immoral) to worse (abominable), and in no time at all found myself inadequate for the first time in my life. In my hour of weakness and shame I finally came before God and admitted I messed up and as a last resort asked for His help. It was very hard for me to do this considering I preached against God to any who believed. I had lost my family, all of my friends, my wealth my dignity, and my lawyer told me to prepare for a holiday in jail. Was there a lower state to be in? The first blessing God gave me was the ability to see clearly what in fact I was, and it wasn’t pretty I can tell you. Having allowed Jesus into my life it was easy to judge myself fairly and see that there is more to it than just me in this world, and others do play a part also. I soon became a lover of good things instead of bad, a lover of all life instead of just mine, a lover of justice instead of crime, a lover of wisdom instead of ignorance, and a lover of God instead of evil. For me God was a last resort, but I hope for you He was not, and if so, then I envy you because it means you submitted by choice and was not forced as I was for relief of self inflicted suffering.

The day of truth arrived in court where I was fully expecting/deserved to do hard time for my crime. It lasted two days so for the first time I tasted a night in the lock-up, which reduced me to a poor excuse for a man. I was scared out of my wits, trembling and shaking in the cell alone I knelt down and totally gave over to God all the weight I bore. In total submission I asked nothing of myself (which was out of character for me), but instead asked my Lord Jesus to do with me what He thought best, and that if I was to go to jail I would testify to other prisoners for the glory of His name. The next day was crunch time where I would hear the verdict which I felt certain would be guilty, but for some reason I was pretty much at ease, not trembling or scared, but more relaxed or decided for want of a better word. In faith I had surrendered to Jesus, and either way I would work to the glory of my Lord whether in or out of jail knowing it would be according to His will, and Jesus would be with me. I believed it and held fast to it, and that very walk of faith took away any fear of the flesh I held previously.

Both God and myself knew I certainly deserved to spend five+ years in jail, so you can imagine my joy when the verdict of guilty was given but a suspended sentence with a hefty fine instead of jail was the punishment. Somehow God had softened the heart of the judge, or allowed the judge to see my regret and remorse to give a lessor penalty, I’m not sure exactly, but for sure I know God was the reason behind the judgment. Glory to God and thank you blessed Jesus! I’m a free man from jail, but more important I am free also from the chains that bound me in sin, because it was this moment that God performed a miracle that would to this very day keep me humble in obedience to Him, and through the comforter He promised, reveal truth wisdom and strength to carry on to the end. There were more miracles to come, not huge cancer healing types, but miracles indeed, and each one of them were to draw me ever so close to God to a point where I am now a man without choice, even if I wanted to, I cant turn away now. I had learnt by the grace of God that He is indeed what He is.

From then to now has been a gradual growing in faith which is now beginning to bring forth works to the glory God. Because through faith I have come to know that Jesus is real and God is the creator of all things, I have no option really but to do the will of this almighty creator, who justly gives according to level of faith. Some believe, but their faith is weak, and God will only reveal according to that faith, but to those strong in faith at the beginning will receive much more revelation and become even stronger, to where they will say; “I know God”, instead of just “I believe in God”. 1Pe 2:2 desire the sincere milk of the Word, as newborn babes, so that you may grow by it; Now to believe is ok, I’m not condemning that, but to do good works and bring glory to God’s holy name requires knowing Him, knowing His will and ways, and knowing how to go about building treasure in heaven that will be the reward for the most faithful. Only when one reaches that level can one be selfless in the flesh and become a tool of God in His plan of salvation for the world. I personally have not reached that level yet, but because I know God is who He say’s he is, I can now work hard for the cause and have the potential to attain that level. There is no potential in weakness of faith.

So…why do I know there is God? Because when I called out to Him…He came to me, when I was lost…He found me, and when I was sad…He loved me, so now I will love Him eternally. Because in faith I decided to put all my trust in God while waiting judgement in jail, He decided to save me, and give me another chance to repent of the evil did and through the holy spirit bring forth change to the betterment of my soul. Making a choice to do this was the beginning of a new beginning that would lead to an understanding of what God requires of us to be loyal and obedient to His will. An unshakeable faith is what God reveals to. Amen.

home