I Still Believe

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” – St. Mark 9:23

Earlier today, a YouTube notification led me to the trailer of a movie called “I Still Believe” that spoke to me.

I wrote down the name of the movie, promising myself that I would watch it towards the end of the month when I wasn’t so busy. A chance cancellation, that I wasn’t altogether happy about, happened at 5 pm today and I felt led to watch the movie. By the time I was finished watching this triad journey of faith, love and purpose fulfillment, I was so wrecked that I reached out and thanked the person for cancelling.

A Quest for Purpose

And He [God] knows my name. The God of a trillion stars knows my name. And He has a destiny just for me and I’m going to figure it out someday.” – Melissa Camp, I Still Believe

Like Melissa, I’m on a quest to live wholesomely in my purpose. At 16 years old, after attending a funeral and hearing the heartfelt way people spoke of the impact that the woman had had on their lives, my goal has been to live a life like that. I don’t think I’ve quite found or fully embraced my purpose yet. However, when I do, my prayer is that though “I am just one star in an infinite galaxy”, I will be the star that shines as brightly as it was meant to shine, brightly impacting the lives of as many persons as possible. It would be a pity if I did anything that deviated from the destiny that the God who knows my name has set just for me.

A Journey to Build Faith

“I don’t know the answers to your questions, but I do know this: that my life is not full in spite of the disappointments, it’s full because of them.” – Tom Camp, I Still Believe

Over the last few months, like Jeremy I’ve been on a hard faith journey. Along the way, I’ve had some incredible wins and seen God in action, just moving things around and coordinating people and occurrences in a way that I could never have imagined. I felt on top of the world.

On the flip side, I’ve had seasons where my heart hurt and my faith in God’s promises was truly threatened as fears and doubts rode me raggedly daily, as like Jeremy I am left with so many questions of “Why?” (not to say that I am comparing my experiences to Jeremy’s). The only answers I got from God was: “Stay the path. I am birthing something important.” I’ve also come to realize that disappointments along this path of faith becomes a matter of perspective. You can choose to dwell on all you have lost or you can choose to see all you have gained because God’s hand is in the midst of it. Like Melissa I can say, “I’ve learned that suffering doesn’t destroy faith, it refines it.” and therefore, even when I don’t see, I still believe in God’s faithfulness.

A Star that Shined

After watching the movie, I learned that it was based on a true story and I was wrecked again. I found myself remembering a similar story I had the privilege to experience through third party lens, about 5 years ago. I remembered thinking how much I admired the wife who found the strength to smile, declare faith and belief in God and reflect God so beautifully despite everything in her life being turned upside down and all her beliefs being shaken. She was a star who shined brightly before and after her world was turned upside down and I admired her greatly for it. She was broken, but still saw God face and walked by faith. Her story reached and impacted so many that I concluded that she must have fulfilled her purpose.

The Point? I assure you there is one… 🙂

“If one person’s life is changed by my story, then it will all be worth it.” – Melissa Camp, I Still Believe

Our faith walk will never be an easy one because we are called to believe even when we can’t see it. We will not always have the answers. We must also be careful not to miss or reject the signs that God choose to send us. And finally, our purpose may not be fulfilled in the way we imagine it but it is all a part of the God who knows our names big plan.