When You WANT to Believe

We WANT to believe. We want to believe in things and in people. Sometimes, we want to believe in something or someone so much, that we ignore common sense. We ignore the facts that are right there in front of us.

I pray often, for wisdom and discernment. My instincts are pretty good and I listen attentively to them. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be led astray on occasion. I can. Especially if I WANT to believe something.

That is when we are the most vulnerable.

Believing in people is good. Everyone needs someone to believe in them. But it can be dangerous at times. It can be dangerous if we give money to someone, when we don’t have enough to pay our own bills; because we believe they have changed their ways, and won’t misuse it again. It can be dangerous, if we enter into another relationship, even though we know deep inside that that person isn’t right for us.  We can harm ourselves over and over and over again.

In 1 Kings 3:10, the Lord tells us that He was pleased with King Solomon for asking for wisdom. And so I try to remember to ask Him for it in my life, as well.

I know I’m an emotional person. I have passions and feelings that, although most of the time, I trust them – they can indeed lead me astray. So I try to pray for wisdom, clarity and perspective.

In this cold, cold world – it’s important that we still have hope. It’s vital that we still believe in the goodness of man. But we also need to have a balance of common sense. For it will protect us. It will guide us.

It’s okay to WANT to believe in something or someone. It’s even okay to be vulnerable and open. (I believe more people need these traits!) But do so cautiously. Do so with prayer. And do so with wisdom and counsel.

They are there for your own protection.