Three Words

August 26, 2025

I had planned this trip for a month and thought I was ready to go. When I got in my car, I realized I needed gas. How could I have missed this important piece?! The trip was to a Kansas City suburb, an hour away. A lot of planning and phone calls had preceded this important day to get my hearing tested and be fitted for hearing aids. I was unhappy with myself for this last-minute trip to get gas. I was unfamiliar with the route but trusted my WAZE app would get me there. However, I was nervous because now I not only was anticipating an unfamiliar route, but a last-minute stop.

After I got gas, I turned onto 6 th Street and headed for I-70. In front of me was a car that got my attention. The license plate had only one word in all caps--BELIEVE. Wow! That was a good word to start the trip with!

And that is what I did. I prayed as I drove and concluded each request with: “I BELIEVE.” My spirits lifted. I prayed not only for my upcoming appointment, but other concerns too. I was amazed that I got to my appointment on time; in fact, I was five minutes early.

My appointment went smoothly. After a thorough exam, I learned I had mild to moderate hearing loss. I could pick up my new hearing aids in two weeks.

I visited my brother and his wife and son who lived nearby and headed home—only to be slowed by an accident on I-70. For about 20 minutes, traffic was slowed to one lane. My prayer inspired by the BELIEVE license plate kept me calm.

The next day I went out on my run, and I pondered.

What does “believe” mean?
What did Jesus say about faith?
How are these words different?

When I returned, I looked up some of my favorite passages and read some notes that helped. John, in his gospel, used the word believe 98 times.

Believe is more than saying “I know that’s true.” It’s a deep trust, a complete reliance on God and what He has said. It involves the heart, not just the mind.

In John’s description of Jesus’ coming, John said: “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Faith is the action that we take when we believe.

The disciples came to Jesus and asked him: “Increase our faith.”

He replied: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’”

Faith, then, is an action. It can be very small, but it counts!

I thought of my mother-in-law, Dorothy, who was a woman of strong faith. Her husband, Gene, was stationed on an island in the South Pacific during World War II. Don, my husband, was born during that time. Dorothy didn’t know if Gene would return. I love the story of when he returned. Don had been given a plastic framed picture of his dad that he carried around as a toddler. The family gathered when Gene came into the room, and they all wondered how Don would react. He looked his dad over and out came the words: “DaDa!” And, of course, everyone was in tears.

Then, when Gene was only 47, he died of a heart attack. Dorothy and Gene were in New Orleans looking for a house as he had just been given a new, exciting job. They would be leaving their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dorothy demonstrated strong faith as she dealt with that devastating loss—and in an unfamiliar city far from home.

Another story of the action of faith that Dorothy took was when Don accepted a new teaching position in Shawnee, Oklahoma. At the time, we lived in Valdosta, Georgia. He made a trip to Shawnee to look for a house to rent and his mother, who lived in a nearby town, was there to help him look. I was at home with 1-year-old Laura and 7- year-old Rebecca. He and his mother learned of a house that sounded perfect and contacted the realtor. She said the people were not moving until the end of September. We needed the end of August move-in. There was not another suitable house for rent. My mother-in-law, not easily daunted, suggested to Don that they go and look at the house.

The couple graciously showed them the house and then made this announcement: “We haven’t told the realtor yet, but we are moving out the end of August.” Had the realtor known, the house would have been snatched up before we had the opportunity. We soon learned that we had moved to a wonderful neighborhood.

Happy times with the Ramsey family!

I don’t want to sound like it’s magic. There are times when God has another answer—or maybe no answer at the time. But the Bible is full of stories of the blessing of living our lives with an attitude of faith. A writer friend, Jonathan Merritt, used a phrase I love—--that “faith is taking a second look.” (Learning to Speak God from Scratch)

I think of my garden. I use that term loosely. I have four plants, marked down, because the best time for planting had passed when I purchased them. The clerk said if I was willing to water a lot, they might survive. I missed some days watering, but these plants didn’t seem to mind.

I have a huge squash plant from which I have enjoyed two meals already. The fig bush looks happy with flourishing green leaves. I’m anticipating figs next year. The second year is when it is to bear fruit—and this is one believing gardener!

But with my garden plants, I needed something else besides the belief and faith. I needed the POWER that God gives growing things to make it happen.

That is what Jesus promised us. We would receive the power of eternal life, but also the power to live this life. He told the Pharisees that he lived in a different realm. That’s what His power enables us to do. We can’t make it on our own. He told His disciples that when He went back to heaven, He would ask the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit. His life in us enables us to live this life—in a way that goes beyond what we can do in our own strength. Paul wrote that God revealed to him that God’s power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

Ephesians 1:19-20 contains my favorite verses from one of Paul’s prayers.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength when he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead.”

Give these three words some thought and be encouraged.

BELIEVE, FAITH, POWER.

I thought I had ended my blog. This morning, as I returned from my overnight shift in a nearby town 30 minutes from Topeka, I was thinking over what I had written and being hard on myself. Does anyone else have that problem? Maybe I needed to do some editing. I should have gotten it done sooner since my goal is one each month, and August is almost over.

As I drove, I continued these thoughts. I had changed lanes several times and now was in the middle lane. I looked to my left at the car passing me and there, on the right-hand side of the rear of the car, was a small sticker. And this is what it said:

believe