I’m sure you know the phrase “Trust but Verify.” It is used in important relationships when one person is expected to believe another. There is one big problem with this phrase—it contains the word “but.”
When we use the word “but” in this way, it simply says what comes before the word is not to be believed until what comes after the word is complete. When we say, “Trust but Verify” we are really saying, “Verify then Trust.” In other words, “Seeing is Believing.” It says, “I will believe and trust only when I can see.”
“Trust but Verify” has probably saved a lot of people from things they want to avoid. “Trust but verify” or “Seeing is Believing” has also keeps people from accessing the vast riches of life which are more valuable than the little things they avoided. We cannot enjoy life as it is meant to be if we must have proof before we believe.
Our relationship with the Lord cannot be built on a “Seeing is Believing” mindset. With God, this “Seeing is Believing” mindset is demonstrated when we set a condition that must be satisfied before we believe what we don’t want to believe. I call this the “Unless I Get What I Want, I Will Not Believe What Is Before Me” way of living.
In John chapter 20, Jesus is raised from the dead, and He appeared to the disciples that same day. The scripture says He appeared to them in a house, but Thomas was not with them. When the disciples told Thomas they had seen Jesus, Thomas responded in John 20:25 by saying to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas was saying, “Unless these things happen to satisfy me, I will not believe.” We cannot have a “Trust but Verify” relationship with the Lord, and neither can we have an “Seeing is Believing” relationship with the Lord. With God, belief is what helps us learn all truths, even those we cannot see.
Later in John 20:27-29, Jesus appears again to the disciples about a week later. This time Thomas was with them. After allowing Thomas to see His hands and reach into His side, “Thomas said, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Jesus responded to him by saying, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
We must learn to move from a mindset that says, “Unless I See It, I Will Not Believe It,” to one that says, “Because I Believe It, I Can See It.” With the Lord, there are more blessings in believing all the things of God, especially those things that your flesh tells you to verify. Choose to believe what you cannot verify.
Instead of living an “Unless I See It” life, start living a “Because I Believe It” life. Often, we destroy relationships with others because we take on an “Unless You Prove It” mindset. Your trust of others is of no value to others unless you give it to them. Trust that must be earned is not trust at all; it is only verification.
Your love of others is of no real value to others unless you love them without the need for something in return. Love that must be earned is not love at all; it is only verification of payment for work others are doing. Love is not payment.
If you want to change things about your life that have been difficult to change, perhaps you may need to learn to go from “Unless” to “Because.” Because God loved us, He loves us. If we will not love Him unless He loves us first, if we will not love others unless others love us first, then we create a life that has no real love or trust or honor or faith or belief.
Let today be the day you start living a “Because I Do, I Will See It and Have It and Enjoy It” life. When you do, you will be blessed beyond your imagination. With God, “Because You Believe” is how He verifies the strength of your belief.
Live a Delivered Life. Love you.
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