11/12/2024
As I write this, I am flying at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic in a metal tube with two wings and engines. Even though I’ve flown many times before, I still have a hard time believing that something weighing roughly 975,000 pounds and is 250 feet long, 224 feet wide, and 63 feet tall can get airborne and fly at a cruising speed of 570 miles per hour. Yep, I looked it up.
Even though I struggle with my belief in the plane’s ability, I still trust that it will get me safely from Point A to Point B. In this sense, belief and trust, although related, convey two different ideas. Think of it like flour and cake—two different things, but one is required to produce the other. If you don’t have flour, you’re not baking a cake.
Likewise, belief is required to produce trust. Belief is a starting point. It is “intellectual assent,” an agreement that something is or must be so, even though we may not fully understand it. I believe a plane, properly built, can fly, but that doesn’t mean I have to board one.
Spiritually speaking, you can believe that Jesus is Lord but still not “board His plane.” James wrote, “Even the demons believe and shudder” (James 2:19).
Trust, on the other hand, goes to a new level. Trust is turning belief into action. I believe a plane can fly, but trust is when I choose to get on board. My belief is a prerequisite, but trust is putting my belief into action.
What I find interesting is that the Greek word deployed in the New Testament for “faith/belief” is pistis, which also conveys the meaning of “trust.” In other words, biblical faith is not just agreeing that something must be true; it is acting upon that agreement. So, when the Apostle Paul wrote that “we have been justified through faith” (Romans 5:1), he already assumes that what we believe (Jesus saves us by His grace) will transfer into us “boarding the plane” (living out the Christian life by His grace).
Perhaps this is why James was adamant that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). Our actions don’t save us, just like my action to board this plane doesn’t fly the plane. But if I don’t board the plane, I’m not going to cross the Atlantic.
Here’s why I write this. Just like my struggle to believe that a 975,000-pound plane can fly, because I don’t understand the engineering and the construction of the plane, I struggle at times to believe how Jesus can save me, because I don’t understand the intricate details of the engineering of life, death, and eternity.
But I still boarded the plane. And I pray that for you as well. Take your belief to the next level of trust and follow Jesus, even if you don’t understand how everything works.
“Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, `I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24).
PS—If you’re reading this, that means my plane landed safely in Prague, and now I will go teach a group of 24 pastors on honing their craft of preaching (www.tcmi.org). My belief, leading to trust, guided me to my destination, and may it be that way for all of us in Jesus Christ.
