“And she believes in me, I’ll never know just what she sees in me
I told her someday, if she was my girl, I could change the world
With my little songs, I was wrong
But she has faith in me, and so I go on trying faithfully
And who knows, maybe, on some special night, if my song is right
I will find a way, find a way”.

Recognize that one? It’s from the song made famous by Kenny Rogers called, “She Believes In Me”. This song has a very special place in my heart. Years ago my wife Grace got free tickets to an outdoor Kenny Roger’s concert. It’s funny I’m not that big into country but I heard of Kenny, so I decided why not we got nothing better to do. We went with another couple and all along the way to the concert, we laughed at ourselves for actually spending a Friday night at a Kenny Roger’s concert. We all joked about what party animals we were and how there was no way we’d be going if we actually had to pay for these tickets. I remember during the show, sitting there in my lawn chair in this wide open field surrounded by a bunch of old people thinking, “When is this going to be over?”. I was more into my pulled pork sandwich and my lemonade than the show itself. But then just when I thought what a waste of an evening this was, Kenny played the song, “She Believes In Me”.  As he sang, I looked over at my wife and she was crying. I asked her if she was okay and she nodded yes. She told me how she used to listen to that song over and over as a little girl and that now whenever she hears it, she thinks of me. When she said that, I felt tears, put down my food and took her hand in mine and for the rest of the song it was as if the world around us stood still, and it was just us, holding each other close. As I listened to the words I understood what she meant. In the lyrics it’s about a songwriter struggling to make it but he keeps writing his songs all because his girl believes in him. I realized that night how blessed I was to have my wife always there to encourage me, support me and be my biggest fan as I too pursued my dreams. How about you? Did you or do you now have anyone in your life like that? I think at some point in our lives, we can all think of someone, whether it’s our spouse, parents, a teacher, or just a good friend. We’ve all gotten to a certain point in our lives because someone told us they believed in us. Did you know that God believes in you too? I was reading the passage in Matthew 8:23-27. Remember that one? This is the story of Jesus and the disciples in a boat during a storm and as the storm hits, the disciples freak out but Jesus is found sleeping. Eventually they wake Him and He calms the storm. As I was meditating on this a light bulb went off in my head. I had read this passage and heard several sermons preached on this. What they all say is that Jesus was sleeping because He was trusting in His Father to get Him to the other side and yes that is all true. I do believe that but I think there’s more to it. I think the real reason Jesus was sleeping in the boat, was because He was trusting in His disciples to get Him to the other side of the lake. Think about it. When you get on an airplane and you nod off to sleep on the plane,  in essence what you are saying is that you believe in the pilots to get you to where you need to go. You believe in them. I think it was the same thing with Jesus. He was saying during that stormy night, that he believed in them. He believed that they could steer the boat, that they had what it took to speak forth to the storm and tell it to be still. They were the miracles that Jesus believed in but they failed to see it. Sometimes God wants us to believe in ourselves. This is not some New Age talk. I’m not saying to never trust in Jesus. I’m not saying that but sometimes we miss out on the destination God has for us because we fail to believe in ourselves when all along He has had the faith in us to begin with. God gives each of us a brain, gifts, and talents, uniquely for us to use, but when obstacles come our way we put ourselves down, belittle ourselves, we give ourselves reasons why we’re not good enough, not smart enough, not talented enough. We forget God is with us and He sleeps in our boat. He sleeps not because He doesn’t care but because He believes in us to steer the boat. If He believes in us enough to ascend into heaven and entrust us with the keys to His kingdom, just think of how much He believes in us for any other challenge that comes our way. So what’s your goal, what’s that dream that is waiting to be accomplished on the other side of the lake? Don’t be afraid, don’t think lowly of yourself, don’t give up when the waves seem overwhelming. Just remember He is sleeping in the boat with you.  He believes you can do all things, He believes in you. Don’t you think it’s time, you believe in you too?

Matthew 8:23-27
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”