Are you like me? Do you find yourself sometimes reading the Bible, when you come across the record of one of God’s fantastic miracles, and think to yourself, “How absurd is that?” And you then ponder the record, thinking that it is just too ridiculous to be true, that there is just no way that could ever have happened?

I am not trying to plant doubt in anyone’s mind by broaching this subject. Rather, I am simply confessing that there are times in which the Bible’s record seems to be rather unbelievable, at least to me.

Think with me about a few examples. The parting of the Red Sea would be a good place to begin. According to the Biblical record, there would have been at least a couple million Israelites who would have made that crossing. Can you imagine the enormity of that event? How long would it have taken that many people to cross the sea, while the waters were banked up on either side? The record of the event would lead us to believe that it took all night for the passage. This means that the pillar of fire that stood between the Israelites and the Egyptian army would have been in place for that duration. And think about the fact that the water then came crashing down on the army, destroying them after the safe passage of the Israelites. Fantastic!

Again, think with me about the story of the manna falling from heaven every day for almost forty years. Every day, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, enough of the miraculous manna fell from heaven to feed at least two million Israelites. And to protect the sanctity of the Sabbath Day, enough fell on Friday so they did not have to work on the Sabbath. Fantastic!

For the sake of time I will mention only one more miracle. Let’s give our attention to the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. After three days and nights in the tomb, Jesus arose from the dead, and then made at least eleven post-resurrection appearances to literally hundreds of individuals. This after convincing proof that He was truly dead. Fantastic!

Left to the frailty of human reasoning, we would all reach the conclusion that these records of the miraculous are simply too absurd to be believed. After all, there is no natural explanation to the supernatural works of God.

And that’s the dilemma. Left to the inclinations, imaginations, and reasonings of the human mind, we are left with the concluding thought that these things simply cannot happen. There has to be an explanation for everything, and if something happens that seemingly has no explanation it is simply because the explanation has not yet been discovered.

This brings us to a place of crisis. Henry Blackaby, in “Experiencing God,” uses the term “crisis of belief.” Will we embrace, by faith, the record of the Bible, or will we give ourselves over to the frailty of the human reasoning? Will we side with the infidels and unbelievers, accepting the theory that miracles cannot happen, and thus reject the Bible? Or will we accept, by faith, the record found in the Bible, that God does indeed perform miracles?

There are so many words of encouragement in the Bible which would lead us to understand that faith is not an easy concept to understand and embrace. It all begins when we sense something, Someone, speaking to our heart, spirit and mind, concerning our deep and desperate need of salvation. This is the ultimate crisis of belief. Will we continue to hold on to humanistic, materialistic reasoning, which tells us this life is all there is? Should we live for the moment, believing that when we close our eyes in death we cease to exist? 

Or, should we, by faith, accept the Bible’s teachings concerning this life, and the life which will be experienced beyond physical death? What seems to be sheer nonsense when viewed through eyes of humanistic reasoning, becomes the most sensible truth when viewed through eyes of faith. 

Faith does not come easily, nor does it remain unquestioned once one has believed, by faith, the clear teachings of Scripture. As the writer of Hebrews says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” The substance of things hoped for. Faith is not focused on the here and now, on the “things” of this life. It does not take faith to believe in something we have in our possession, something we can see, touch, and in some sensory way experience. Rather, faith is focused on what cannot be seen or sensed in any physical way. 

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say something that will help us in our understanding of faith: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” By faith we understand!

There are so many things which cannot be tested and proved by relying on empirical evidence. There are puzzles and enigmas which are so completely beyond our reasoning capabilities. This is when the absurdity of faith is needed. It is faith that enables us to see what cannot be seen with the human eye. It is faith that ushers into the very presence of the living God as we embrace the truths of Scripture, taking God at His word.

To the unbelieving world it is absurd nonsense. To the individual whose eyes have been opened by the grace of God, the absurdity becomes clear. Does it mean that from the moment of belief we will never experience doubts again? Certainly not. But faith enables us to believe what we cannot explain. 

The next time you are reading the Bible, and you hear that whisper that tells you how absolutely absurd it all sounds, just whisper back. No, don’t whisper, shout, “I believe what I don’t understand. God, I truly believe. Please, help my unbelief.” He will. And you will see somewhere down the road that the crisis of belief actually strengthened your walk with God.