Several years ago in Britain researchers went door to door asking people about their belief in God. They would ask, "Do you believe in a God who intervenes in human history, who changes the course of affairs, and who performs miracles?"
The title of their published study came from the response of one man whose reply was typical of many answers they received: "No, I don't believe in that God, I just believe in the ordinary God."
When we believe only in an ordinary God, oh, what peace we often forfeit, and oh, what needless pain we bear.
In Psalm 40, the sacred poet celebrates an extraordinary God--a God who can deliver us from impossible situations. This God, wrote David, "lifted me out of the slimy pit" and "gave me a firm place to stand" and "put a new song in my mouth."
How do you come to believe in a God like that?
Here's what you need to do. I learned this from someone who is in a 12-step recovery group where they remind each other, "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
In those words--"We came to believe"--you'll find everything you need to know about starting a relationship with the extraordinary God.
First, "We came." Show up. Attend a church service, read a book about faith that a friend loans you. Join a Bible study. It's helpful to see how faith in God is lived out by people you know. So, come.
Second, "we came to"--that is, we woke up to spiritual reality. Most of us would describe our conversion like that: As if coming out of a daze we woke up to the fact that life didn't have to be lived the way we were living it.
And then, third, "we came to believe"--that is, you decide that this God-talk makes sense and you accept it.
This Sunday, we'll look closely at Psalm 40 and come--or come again--to believe in the extraordinary God who can deliver us out of impossible situations.
It's part of our new sermon series in February and March called "Growing Pains of the Soul." Join us @ 10 a.m. for an hour of worship and study!
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