DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE? SI NOU KWE VRE?

Mak 5:36

“Men Jezi pat okipe sa yo t’ap di a. Li di chef sinagog la: --‘Pa pe. Selman met konfyans ou nan mwen.’”

John 14:1

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”

I have one question; do you truly believe in God? Nou kwe nan bondye vreman? If yes, then start acting like it!

Every single year on our church anniversary/inaugural celebration we hear the great retelling of the inspiring story of how L’Eglise Evangelique Haitienne de Pompano got started. And of course, about how our sanctuary was built, even though there were many times that the enemy wanted us to think it would never happen. We hear about how despite all the odds Bondye fidel kan mem. Chak ane nou tande sa! We hear about how God continued to show up for us through each obstacle. And that with prayer and petition God gave Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church of Pompano the desires of our hearts. And not only do we hear all of this every year, but we live it. We sit in that sanctuary and we enjoy the benefits and we see the fruits of God’s blessings and favor.

But that was many years ago. How about the miracles God performed for us as a church just in the past couple of years alone? In 2018 He saved our pastor and brought him back home to us jis a Paris, wi! He has allowed us to build and support a church in Haiti, He has allowed us to see lives changed through our services and so, so much more! Et lap kontinye fe toujou because these are just the church’s testimonies. What about our own. What about what God has done for us individually in the past and just recently? What about the incredible fact that we are still standing here today? Gade’m la touoju! Take a moment right this second and think about all the things that you were worried about last year that God has resolved and that you probably already forgot about.

Yet with all this evidence, we continue to worry and doubt as soon as the next thing comes along… the next obstacle, the next financial trouble, the next family rift, the next citizenship issue, the next church need, the next this and the next that. Pou ki sa nou fe sa? Why do we do that? Why did the Israelites do that? I understand that these things aren’t little things. They are intimidating and they are big… bigger than us, in fact. But guess what? Just like David and Goliath, they aren’t bigger than our God! Anyen pa plus pase’l! And in Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus says plainly there is nothing to worry about! Not clothes, food, etc. because we are so valuable to God! We just need to seek Him. But for some reason it’s that immediate amnesia that we talked about before! We forget that Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” And we forget that in Philippians 4:6-7 it says Don’t be anxious! Just communicate with God in all situations and He will give us His peace that surpasses all understanding and that guards our hearts and minds! This is a reminder that God’s miracles are not only for those who lived in the bible days, his grace and mercies aren’t just for our church, and his favor and faithfulness isn’t just for other Christians that you see and feel as if their lives are more blessed than yours! Sa pa verité! Everything that God has to offer, is for you! Yes, you. You reading this right now.

So, here is the answer to my very first question… YOU DO BELIEVE! You just doubt, and you quickly forget. But right now, I’m going to need the family of HEBC to stop running scared, and to act like a people who believe, because we do! Pwan fos, paske nou kwe! I know it for a fact. If we didn’t believe then that would mean that everything that we do--- sing, proclaim, pray, declare and so on and so forth would be for nothing. There’s no way. I don’t believe that! I just want us as members of God’s Kingdom to continually act like people who believe, yon pep ki kwe… BECAUSE WE DO! There’s no doubt about it. And there shouldn’t be. So, when things, people and circumstances come to threaten our joy, peace and sound mind we need to instantly flex our God muscles that we’ve developed over the years through the word, worship and prayer and know that everything is going to turn out for our good! What’s the point of it all if we don’t? What is the point if we let all that faith that we’ve built up through our walk with Christ go to waste?

I heard the phrase “God muscle” and now that’s what I call our faith. I call it a God muscle because if we don’t use it and work it out it loses its strength just like a real muscle. We have the faith; we just must tap into it. We must trust. I know you believe. So, my new question is do you believe that you believe? Do you believe that God is the God we say he is? That you say he is? I really hope you start believing it for yourself, because Christmas has come and gone, a time where God performed his greatest miracle; sending down his son to save us. And a new year is coming; an entire new year where God gets to do his thing in YOUR LIFE… but only if you believe that He will. Once you surrender that to Him, get ready and get excited paske bondye pwal fe yon bagay gran nan lavi ou and you haven’t seen anything yet!