Struggling to believe in Jesus is not unusual. I remember a pastor telling us there was a time when he struggled with faith as a young man. At that time, he realized he had to trust just like a child without understanding. The author of Hebrew writes this about faith. Hebrews 11:1Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.[1]
Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus one evening in the dark. Nicodemus knew God had sent Jesus because of the miraculous signs He did. During their conversation, Jesus told him that he must be born again. You can imagine Nicodemus’s puzzled look when Jesus shared this unfamiliar teaching with him. Nicodemus was a Jewish teacher who was very familiar with the Old Testament but did not understand the teaching of the Messiah. As people, we can have Biblical knowledge but not salvation, and we can deceive ourselves. We can know about Jesus but not have a personal relationship with Him.
Faith is Trust
Faith is trusting in the Lord and not figuring everything out. We want to understand, but faith does not work that way. Jesus saw that Nicodemus was struggling as He spoke of being born again.
John 3:10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. [2]
The more that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, the more it was apparent that Jesus’ new teaching was hard for him to grasp. Children are the model for coming to faith in Jesus because they willingly believe. Often, our intellect gets in the way of trusting the Lord.
Reaching Out to Jesus
At some point, Nicodemus took the idea of being born again into his heart and believed. We know this because Nicodemus was at the cross and helped take Jesus’ body to the tomb. As people, we must take our faith struggles to the cross of Jesus.
Sometimes, we may need to ask Jesus to help us overcome our unbelief. Even Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, struggled. It was then Jesus told him to put his fingers in his side wounds. John 20:9 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” [3] The Lord understands our struggles, and if you are struggling to believe in Jesus, seek the Lord in prayer and listen to the Holy Spirit to overcome unbelief.
To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/jesus-and-nicodemus
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.