You Must Stop Believing And Start Knowing

This statement may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out.

When I was young, I would hear old-timers say things that sounded odd to me. They would say, “I believe it’s going to be a harsh winter.” Or some might say, “I believe it’s going to rain today”. I would ask, “Why do you say that”? I just didn’t understand how they could make such a claim. Now, this was before there were the incredible weather computer models that we currently have, so their statements were purely from their own beliefs or observations.

How could a person get up in the morning and there not be a cloud in the sky, and yet they make a claim that it is going to rain today? The answers to my questions varied, but essentially, they had physical indications that the rain would come later that day. The air felt heavy, or their bones ached. These signs told them that rain was coming. They would look at nature and, based upon years of observation; a prediction of a harsh winter could be made.

But on my grandparents' farm, there was a difference between believing one way and knowing that way was to be. The difference was conviction. We know this will be a harsh winter. The signs are present; therefore, I must prepare. We must can up more of the harvest, stock the coal bin, do preparations to block the wintry winds and heavy snow.

When you know with certainty, you can take action with conviction. No amount of doubt, whether your own or injected by others, will sway you from what you know to be the truth. There is an example of this in the Bible. Mark chapter 9 tells of a story where the disciples of Jesus could not cast out a demon from a boy. When the boy was presented to Jesus, it immediately caused the boy to go into convulsions. Jesus asked the father how long this had been happening, and the father said, from childhood.

Mark 9:14-27 details the account.

¹⁴ And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. ¹⁶ And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

¹⁷ Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. ¹⁸ And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

¹⁹ He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰ Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. ²² And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³ Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” ²⁶ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Notice in verse 24 the father said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

The father of the boy had to go from believing to knowing. He had just witnessed the disciples failing to cast the demon out, so he had doubts about the possibility of his son being delivered. He needed to transition from doubt in the disciple to faith in Jesus.

Hebrews 11:1 says;

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is the ‘knowing’ of things you hope for. It is evidence that even though you do not see it yet, it is coming. It will happen.

Faith is the conviction that despite current conditions, they will change.

You need to go from believing to knowing!