Who has believed what he has heard from us? Isaiah 53:1
Is salvation like buying a car? You go to the car dealer to buy a car. You bring your money, and there is an exchange in which the seller gets the money, and you get the car. But in order to buy the car, you need to have the money. No money, no car.
Maybe you think salvation works like this. You give your faith to God and He gives you forgiveness and eternal life. Faith is the money you need to purchase God’s salvation. You bring your faith, and salvation is yours.
Thank God this is not the message of the Bible. Maybe you find it difficult to believe. This is what Isaiah was talking about when he said, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” (53:1).
Some speak as if believing is easy: “Just believe!” But the person who says that does not understand that our hearts are wired for unbelief. If we had to find some faith and offer it to God in exchange for our salvation, our situation would be hopeless.
If you feel that you do not have it in you to believe, you’re right. You do not. The good news is that God can give you what you do not have: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).
The faith by which you receive God’s salvation is not a capacity that resides in you. None of us has that. By nature our hearts are wired for unbelief. Faith is the gift of God.
Here is hope for every person who struggles to believe: the arm of the Lord is stronger than your unbelief. God’s Spirit can overcome the power of unbelief in you.
When the disciples asked, “Who can be saved?” Jesus responded, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:26, 27).
If you find it hard to believe, ask God to save you from the power of your own unbelief.
