LUKE 22:67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
Nobody can be pushed to accept anything. Based on our assessment of the evidence put forth to us, every one of us decides whether or not to accept something.
Though faith and belief may have separate meanings in English, they are both different spellings of the same Greek word in the New Testament. "Faith" is the noun form for the same word of "believe" which is the verb form. (Same as "think" and "thought" are in English.)
JOHN 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Thomas said, "I WILL NOT believe," as you will see.
Many believe that witnessing miracles would inspire belief in others. However, only those who decide to accept the miracle as adequate justification for their belief do so as a result of witnessing miracles. There is still a decision to be made.
JOHN 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
I once believed that faith was more of an emotion or condition of being that was hard to describe centainly. Yet I now realize that regardless of how we may feel, once we choose to trust, we are in belief.
The belief is always a choice at its center. Nobody can push you to hold a particular belief. You own the decision.
Without proof, we cannot, however, trust or have belief in anything. Before we can accept anything, we need evidence to support it.
God's Word is the main piece of evidence He has provided for us to have confidence in Him. God is trustworthy because He is not a deceiver. God's words are always fulfilled.
Therefore, if somebody claims they lack belief, the answer is for them to consider the proof provided by God's Word, after which they can decide whether or not to believe what God stated as truthful.
They will then hold confidence. They may not experience something at that time, yet they still hold belief.
Saying in accordance with God's Word is the main manifestation of trust towards God. If you hold belief, Jesus said, you would speak.
Therefore, through the words we say, we convey what we think. Then, despite of thoughts or conditions, we keep the stance of faith.
SAY THIS: Nothing can push me to trust. I have to decide to trust.
