A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
“What if I don’t have enough faith and God gets mad at me?” That was the terrible fear that haunted me as I walked to high school on a bright winter morning. I was 14 years old. I’d grown up in a godly home. My father was a preacher, my mother a happy, enthusiastic servant of God. I remembered with joy and conviction when I ask Jesus to forgive me for my sins when I was a young child. But a verse I had read recently stuck in my mind, and I couldn’t get away from it:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
I certainly believed in God, but was my faith strong enough to please Him? I knew very well I sinned and that I needed His forgiveness. But was I really sorry enough, or was I just a big hypocrite? I had wept and cried, but couldn’t be sure of anything about myself or God. That morning as I walked to school, I said out loud, “God, I’ve done all I know to do, and if I go to Hell it will be your fault, because I’ve done all I know to do.”
I was almost frightened at my audacity in saying that out loud to God. But immediately I seemed to hear God’s tender voice saying, “Good, Libby. You’ve got it right. I’ve taken the responsibility to get you to Heaven. Your sins are forgiven because Jesus paid your penalty. There’s not a thing more you need to do, not a thing more you can do. I’ve got you covered, Child; rest easy and go to school comforted.”
And I did.
Why would God let Jesus go through all that terrible suffering on the cross —and He did—if there were something more we had to add to pay for our salvation? Why would God give us His infallible, perfect Bible—and He did—if He didn’t want us to know how to receive His forgiveness? Why had God moved so gently in my young heart—and He had—if He did not want me to be sure of Heaven? I cared enough about my sin to ask for forgiveness. And I had just enough faith to ask. And that, God says, is enough.
Do I make this too simple? I don’t think so. Remember the short little man named Zacchaeus who was too short to see Jesus in the crowd? He climbed a tree so he could see Him (Luke 19:2,3). Before he had said a single thing to Jesus, Jesus told him to come down because salvation had come to his house. He didn’t know much about Jesus, but he wanted Him.
Remember the thief who died on the cross along with Jesus? He didn’t have a chance to confess his sins or express great faith. He only begged Him, “Remember me when You come into your kingdom.” Jesus told him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42).
So it isn’t how much faith you have when you ask Jesus for forgiveness. It isn’t how sorry you are for all your sins. Just ask, and God will give you everlasting life.
In the long years since I became a Christian, my faith has grown, because God, in His great love and mercy, has answered my innumerable, frantic prayers. Nor do I feel sinless. But I ask and He forgives. The closer I get to Him, the more I am aware of His holiness and justice. Still, I ask and He hears and forgives.
Notice the tenses of the verbs in the promise Jesus made in John 5:24:
Most assuredly, I say to you,
he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life,
and shall not come into judgment,
but has passed from death into life.