Ask & Believe

Col.3:^13-14 “Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

The first thing you need to know about the A. B. C. of taking bold steps in your relationships is A is for Asking. Matt.7:^7-8 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google said, ‘We run this company on questions, not answers.’ – profound! Take the bold step of asking; what do you need to ask and from whom do you need to ask? Sometimes, you need to take the bold step in asking yourself questions and wrestle with them until you get answers. You take bold steps in relationships by Asking.

B is for Believing. You take bold steps in relationships by believing. 2 Timothy 4:¹¹ “Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry.” The background to this is Paul and Barnabas were the Apostles and John Mark was a protege who accompanied them on missionary trips. Then at some point, out of immaturity, John Mark abandoned the ship and went to party for a little while. And by the time he came back, Paul said he was not following them anymore. Barnabas tried to remind Paul that they had all done this before, so they should focus on encouraging John Mark instead. Their confrontation was so fierce that Paul and Barnabas went different ways. Barnabas believed in John Mark, not just because he was his nephew but because that was his person. In fact, Barnabas was nicknamed the son of consolation because he always believed in people.

For you to take the next step in your relationship, you must believe in the person or in people. If you want to take the next step in your relationship with your child, you must believe in that child. If you want to take the next step in your relationship with your spouse, you must believe in your spouse. If you want to take the next step in your relationship with your organization or with your boss, you must believe that there is something good in it. You must believe. Barnabas turned out to be right about John Mark because John Mark became a solid and very resourceful believer. If you make a mistake, a wrong call about someone, do not be too ashamed to retract your position and adjust. It is a sign of greatness, and this is one thing we can learn from Paul.

When Paul realized that he made a mistake about John Mark, he sent for him. Do not be too arrogant to ask or too arrogant to believe as some people are. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:¹¹ “…Take Mark and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (KJV). This was the same John Mark that Paul did not give a chance and he ostracized. It was this same John Mark that caused a division between Paul and his ministry partner. The fact that you made a mistake should not change the course of your destiny. You need to believe that things can work again.

Prayer:  Father, heal my heart and help me to believe in people, in Jesus Name. Amen!