Tyler Dolan

PSU Engl 138T

Unit 1: This I Believe

I Believe in You
I had no faith in people. I never did, and I still struggle with it now. I prefer doing projects by
myself, I favor studying by myself, and I have always found more peace relaxing, walking,
eating, sitting, and so forth, all by myself. One recent day I attended my local church, just like
many other Sundays, but this time the sermon touched on something that I struggled with on a
day-to-day. Pastor Ed’s words that morning changed me forever, and now, I believe in you.
The sermon began in 1 Kings 19 with a story about Elijah, who considered suicide until gently
spoken to by the Lord. Pastor Ed proceeded to share that God always speaks, and He speaks
directly to every individual, but seldom do His followers listen. I had always thought that God
speaks only to priests and pastors, and that I was supposed to glean the Lord’s message from His
words to these select few. But I was wrong. God constantly tries to speak to me, I simply have
not spent enough time with Him to understand. Just as it takes time to adjust to the vernacular of
a toddler or one afflicted with a speech impediment, so too do I need to spend time with God to
understand Him.
This point stuck with me. My persistent neglect of the Lord speaking to me, simply because I
have not spent time with Him, stuck with me. I realized that I needed to learn to listen. And I’m
not advocating that everyone converts to Christianity or doubles-down on their religious
undertakings. I understand and respect that everyone has their own beliefs, but I also now
understand that God still speaks to everyone.
I began interpreting this idea and gleaned this: I am nowhere near perfect. I skip church to sleep;
I curse more than I should; I have treated people poorly and probably still do; I succumb to at
least four of the deadly sins; I’ve cheated, lied, hated, and angered quickly. But despite all this,
God still speaks to me and God still wants to use me. God still has faith in me to better this world
in His image.
So, if God still believes in me enough to take the time to speak with me and encourage me to
positively change this world, then I can undoubtedly relinquish the experiences that made me so
introverted and distrustful. I now realize that God loves, trusts, and speaks to everyone, and if
God has faith in everyone, then I do as well. If God can console, encourage, and strengthen
everyone, then I can make an effort to do the same. Since God believes in you, then I too
wholeheartedly believe in you.