The other week, I had the pleasure of attending a New Wine celebration at the Lantern Church in Merley. For those who haven’t been, it’s a wonderful evening that rotates between different local churches, including my own, Blandford Forum Parish Church. These gatherings are a highlight for me. They bring together churches from all across the area to worship in a different way. The atmosphere is refreshingly informal, freeing you from the structure of a Sunday service and allowing plenty of space for you to simply be and encounter Jesus.
As an added blessing, it was also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and see people I hadn’t connected with in a long time. There was a real sense of community and shared purpose in the air.
As the worship music swelled, I found a quiet space to just internally praise and worship my loving heavenly Father. I closed my eyes and began to recite the Apostles’ Creed, a foundational anchor of my faith. My heart and mind aligned as I spoke the ancient words, “I believe in God the Father… I believe in his Son Jesus, that he died for me, rose again on the third day, and was then raised to sit at the right hand of God. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, that he is living in us and I am living in him…”
And then, in a moment I will never forget, I heard a voice. It wasn’t audible, but it was as clear as any sound, a voice I knew to be that of Jesus.
He said, “I believe in you too.”
The Moment It Became a Conversation
I was completely taken aback. My internal dialogue stammered. What? Sorry? I thought, my mind struggling to process the interruption.
And again, the gentle, firm, loving voice repeated, “I believe in you too.”
Instantly, a feeling of pure, unadulterated joy flooded my entire being. It was like the emotional equivalent of a kid who has just unwrapped the one present they desperately wanted but never believed they would actually get at Christmas. It was a release of love, a wave of warmth and affirmation that piled on me in that moment, overwhelming my senses.
I had never, in all my years as a Christian, given it much thought. I mean, of course, God knows I exist. He created me. But the idea that He believes in me? That was a concept so foreign it had never even entered my mind. My belief was something I did towards Him. It had never occurred to me that His belief was something He directed back at me.
It’s probably why it has taken me a week or so to get this down in writing. This wasn’t a fleeting emotional high. It was a deep, theological truth that I needed to internalise, to let it sink from my head down into the deepest, most wounded parts of my heart. I needed to sit with it and truly understand what He was saying.
What It Means When God Believes in You
This wasn’t Jesus just saying, “I acknowledge your existence.” It was so much more than that. He was saying He believes in me.
He believes in my identity. He believes in who He created me to be. He believes in the person I am right now, and the person I am becoming.
It was just like a loving parent would say to their child to give them encouragement before a big exam, a football match, or a music recital. It was a statement of pure, unconditional support. In those four words, God was saying that although I may lack self-confidence—though I carry deep wounds from trauma and abandonment issues that still scream at me—He believes that I will overcome them. He believes it because I am His son. He believes it because He is right here, and He will be with me every single step of the way to help me through all of it.
This is the God who knows us inside and out, sees our every flaw, and still, He believes in us.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
Psalm 139:1-3 (NLT)
He knows our every thought, our every failure, our every fear. And His response isn’t to turn away in disappointment. His response is to look us square in the eye and say, “I know all of it. And I believe in you.”
I truly don’t think I can adequately convey in words how this has made me feel, or the profound healing impact it has had on me over these past few weeks. It has been a quiet revolution in my soul. It changes everything.
The Power of the “Believe” Sign
As I’ve been thinking about this, I was reminded of the TV show Ted Lasso. In the AFC Richmond changing room, Ted hangs a simple, hand-painted sign that just says “BELIEVE.” It’s a message for the team, a call for them to believe in themselves, in the team, and in the process.
For my entire life, I’ve been trying to believe in the sign. I’ve been striving to believe in God, in the team, in the process. What I learned in that moment of worship is that the sign also believes in me. The coach, the creator, the one who designed the entire game, has his arm around my shoulder, pointing at me and saying, “I believe in that one.”
All of a sudden, it’s like having the entire stadium, the great cloud of witnesses, cheering you on. But the loudest voice, the only one that truly matters, is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the one helping you back up when you get tackled. He is the one giving you the strength, the resolve, and the belief to make those changes you know you need to make, to pull away from that area of sin you know you need to let go of, to reach that goal you set for yourself.
We were never meant to do this on our own. We were never meant to run this race fuelled only by our own fragile self-belief. We were designed to run it fuelled by His unshakeable belief in us. He doesn’t just tolerate us. He champions us.
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)
He rejoices over us! That is what it means for God to believe in you. He doesn’t just believe we can get through life; He cheers for us.
He Believes in His Own Masterpiece
Perhaps the most logical part of this, the part I can’t believe I missed, is why He believes in us. He believes in us because He made us. He believes in His own handiwork.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
You are not a cosmic accident. You are not a disappointment. You are God’s masterpiece. When an artist creates a masterpiece, they believe in it. They know its value. They know what it was designed for. God looks at you, His masterpiece, and He believes in the good things He planned for you to do.
More than that, He doesn’t just create us and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He is actively involved in the process of our lives, guaranteeing our completion.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
God’s belief in you is not wishful thinking. It is a divine certainty. He is certain that the good work He started in you will be finished. He believes in His own ability to carry you through. When you are filled with doubt, you can rest in His certainty.
A Message for You, Dear Reader
This profound, healing truth is not just for me. It is for you. As you sit here reading this, I need you to know and understand that God believes in you, too.
You are His child. He loves you with a fierce and tender love. He is there to encourage you. He believes that you can move that mountain—not because of your own strength, but because He will give you His.
So even if you don’t believe in yourself—especially if you don’t believe in yourself—know this: God, the creator of the universe, the one who hung the stars and knows your name, believes in you. His belief is the solid ground beneath your feet when your own self-confidence feels like sinking sand.
A Reflection for You
This encounter has changed the way I pray and the way I see myself. I want that for you, too. As you reflect on this, I invite you to sit quietly for a moment and consider these questions:
- When you think about your relationship with God, is it a one-way street? Do you spend all your time telling Him you believe in Him, without ever stopping to let Him tell you He believes in you?
- What lies do you believe about yourself (that you’re not good enough, you’re a failure, you’re unlovable, you’re defined by your trauma) that are directly contradicted by the truth that “God believes in you”?
- What one thing in your life might change if you started acting like God truly believed in you and was cheering you on?
A Heartfelt Action:
If you, like me, struggle with self-doubt or a lack of self-belief, then may I ask you to join me in a simple challenge? For the next month, I invite you to pray this simple prayer, just a little each day. Write it down, put it by your bed, set a reminder on your phone. Let this be the start of re-wiring your heart to accept His truth.
“Lord, I don’t believe in myself, but you do! Help me to believe in me, the way you do. Amen.”