Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God. Everyone who loves the Father also loves his children.
1 John 5:1 GW
If your faith feels fragile or your progress feels slow, this is for you, beloved of God.
Knowing who Jesus is changes how we see ourselves.
Not all at once.
Not in a dramatic flash.
But in a steady, grounding way.
When we begin to trust Jesus for who He actually is, our story shifts. We move from Lost → Loved → Known → Alive. And that shift doesn’t start with what we do for God. It starts with what God has already done for us.
John puts it simply:
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”
— 1 John 5:1 NLT
This verse isn’t meant to pressure us. It’s meant to steady us. It doesn’t ask, “Are you good enough?” It says, “If you’re trusting Jesus, your story has already changed.”
That matters, because many of us live like our standing with God is fragile. One bad day. One bad choice. One bad thought. But Scripture keeps pointing us back to something sturdier than our moods.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 8:1
Trusting Jesus Changes the Direction of Our Lives
John starts with who Jesus is, not what we do.
The word believes doesn’t mean emotional certainty. The Greek word pisteuō means to trust, to rely on, to lean your weight on. Belief is less about getting everything right and more about who you keep coming back to.
Belief isn’t never struggling.
It isn’t always feeling confident.
It isn’t having perfect obedience.
Belief is coming back to Jesus when life feels messy. It’s leaning on Him instead of your own control. It’s trusting His grace more than your self-judgment.
John doesn’t say, “believes Jesus is helpful.”
He says, “believes Jesus is the Christ.”
Christ means Messiah — God’s Anointed One. That means Jesus isn’t just a coping tool or a motivational voice. He is Savior, Lord, and King. He rescues you, leads you, and carries authority over your life.
Believing Jesus is the Christ isn’t adding Him to your routine. It’s slowly, steadily re-centering your life around Him.
Before, you were carrying life alone. Now, you’re learning to walk with Someone who carries responsibility for your future — even when your faith feels thin.
And Scripture keeps reminding us that He is not.
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself.”
— 2 Timothy 2:13
The First Leg of the Stool: TRUST
A life submitted to Christ is built on a three-legged stool: Trust → Listen → Obey.
Everything wobbles if Trust isn’t solid.
Trust is not what you do for God. Trust is what you rest on because of what God has done for you. It’s not hustle. It’s not fixing yourself first. It’s not proving you’re worthy.
Trust is this:
Sitting down on the finished work of Jesus and letting His righteousness hold you up.
A stool works because it holds your weight. You don’t help it by hovering nervously above it. You trust it by sitting down.
Jesus didn’t invite you to perform. He invited you to rest.
You are not holding up your life.
His righteousness is holding you up.
And here’s the quietly freeing part: you don’t have to do anything first.
Belonging comes before behavior.
Acceptance comes before change.
You don’t clean yourself up to sit with Jesus. You don’t get emotionally stable to belong. You just sit. With your mess. With your questions. With your weakness.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Come to Me when you’re fixed.”
He says:
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28
Love Will Move You When the Time Is Right
Grace doesn’t make us passive. Grace makes us safe.
“We love because He first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19
We don’t obey to be loved.
We obey because we are loved.
We don’t have to force change. We just sit with Him — until love quietly moves our hearts to respond.
When Trust is solid, listening becomes more natural. Obedience becomes more relational. Growth becomes less forced. Belonging comes before behaving. Connection comes before correction.
This isn’t lazy faith. It’s secure faith. (Yes, you still get to grow. You’re just not being chased by a spiritual stopwatch.)
Being Born of God Changes How We See Ourselves
John continues:
“…has been born of God.”
This is where everything really begins to change.
John doesn’t say you’ve been spiritually upgraded or morally approved. He says you’ve been born of God.
That’s not something you maintain. That’s something God initiates.
New birth means God gives you a new identity, brings you into His family, and makes your spirit alive.
Before: orphaned, striving, unsure.
Now: adopted, accepted, secure.
You didn’t give birth to yourself spiritually. You can’t un-birth yourself either.
Your setbacks can’t reverse God’s decision.
Your hard days don’t cancel God’s love.
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
— Romans 8:16
You don’t achieve sonship.
You receive sonship.
Being Known Changes How We Relate to God
New birth doesn’t just change your status. It changes your relationship.
Being “known” means God doesn’t just tolerate you. He recognizes you as His. He knows your name, your story, your fears. He knows your weakness and still chose you.
God becomes Father, not Judge.
Prayer becomes conversation, not performance.
Conviction becomes guidance, not rejection.
You are not anonymous in God’s Kingdom.
You are named, claimed, and known.
Safety Leads to Real Change
As we feel safe with God knowing us, He begins to reveal more of Himself in us.
Fear blocks growth.
Shame limits connection.
Safety opens the door to change.
When you realize God already knows your worst and still stays with you, your heart starts to relax. And as your heart relaxes, the Spirit reshapes you.
Grace slowly pushes out shame, guilt, and regret.
Shame says, “You are what you did.”
Grace says, “You are who I say you are.”
Guilt says, “Pay for your mistakes.”
Grace says, “Jesus already did.”
Regret says, “Your past disqualifies you.”
Grace says, “Your past is now part of your story, not your sentence.”
Abundant Life Looks Like Steady Wholeness
Jesus didn’t promise an easy life. He promised an abundant life (John 10:10).
Not perfect circumstances.
Not problem-free living.
Abundance is a heart learning love, a mind learning peace, a soul learning joy, and a life growing in patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The kind of life money can’t buy.
But the kind of life that quietly becomes more valuable than anything money can.
Conclusion: Sit First, Then Walk
If the purpose of life is to know God and walk with Him, then what assures our hearts more than anything is this:
Abiding in His grace and love, relationally.
Not proving ourselves to God.
Not fixing ourselves for God.
Not constantly evaluating ourselves before God.
Just being with Him.
Knowing who Jesus is changes everything. It moves you from Lost → Loved → Known → Alive.
A life submitted to Christ doesn’t start with hustle. It starts with Trust.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
— Proverbs 3:5
You don’t have to do anything.
You just sit with Him.
And as you abide, your heart becomes steadier — not because you earned it, but because you rested in what was already yours.
You are not lost.
You are loved.
You are known.
And you are being made fully alive.
A Short Prayer for Trust and Assurance
Father in Heaven,
I come to You just as I am.
I choose to rest in Your love
and the finished work of Jesus.
Quiet every voice of shame, guilt, and fear.
Teach my heart to trust You today.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above — spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.
1 John 5:1 AMP
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