I was asked once if I ever had doubts in the existence of God. My answer is, No, not since I recommitted my life to Him in 1981. However, this is not to say that I’m not tempted regularly to disbelieve in the existence of a personal and loving God. So, let me explain why I still believe.
When I was a very young boy I suffered with terrible nightmares. My mother was often at my bedside trying to comfort and encourage me. The one thing I remember giving me solace during those times were her words, “David, Jesus loves you. He will not let anything happen to you.” Though still gripped with fear, and hiding under my covers, those words did console me. The thought that I was not alone meant so much. This, along with later childhood experiences, help me to learn to trust in God.
However, as the years rolled on and childhood turned into adolescence, and adolescence into young adulthood my choices ran in paths that led me to frequenting bars, and doing many of the things such a lifestyle involves. During those years my life was spared on more than one occasion. I would have carried on this way if it was not for something that happened on a cloudless, moonless night at my home on a Kansas farm. While throwing a party I walked outside by myself and looked up to notice a beautiful, star studded sky. Though a little drunk and unsteady on my feet, I began to think, “If there’s a heaven then there must be a God in heaven. And if a God, then there must be a devil too.” Not wanting to go to hell I said out loud, “God if you’re real let me know.” Over the course of the next few days He did just that in marked, convincing ways. Shortly after, certain that God was real, I stopped frequenting the bars and started attending church.
The memory of that little boy hiding under his covers, trusting in Jesus, is where faith in God began for me. Where’d it begin for you? Have you had experiences with God? Have you had evidences of His hand at work in your life? Only you can answer that question. If you sincerely want to know if God is real - ask Him. That’s a prayer He will always answer. Today, we are often harassed by an unseen enemy, and tempted to doubt in God’s existence. Let’s not close our eyes to the many evidences of His presence and tender love for us.
Dave Moench serves as pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Bowman.
