We were created to believe; it’s woven into our souls. As children, this truth is reinforced in stories:
- Believe in Santa.
- Believe in Peter Pan.
- Believe in magic.
- Believe in wonder.
As adults, people seek “higher powers” even when they reject God. The existential feeling that something bigger than us exists isn’t random — it’s designed.
Why do you think the Bible has lasted this long? Why do you think humans throughout history have always believed in something beyond themselves?
Whispers From Childhood
Growing up, I was a strange little girl — and I say that with love. I didn’t have many friends, and honestly, I didn’t really want any. Being around people gave me anxiety. I clung to the one best friend I had until high school, and that was enough.
I never prayed as a kid, but I wished. I wished on stars; I wished on eyelashes; I wished at 11:11. And every time, I felt heard; like Someone was listening. And I talked to myself all the time — sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud when I was alone. As a kid, I thought it was weird, but looking back, I wasn’t talking to myself, I was talking to God.
There’s one moment from childhood I’ll never forget:
My older brother had been hit by a car, and my little brother and I were sent to the neighbour’s house while my parents rushed to the hospital. I was young enough to imagine the worst — that he might come home without a foot or not come home at all.
And in my fear, I prayed. To a God I didn’t even know. Funny how even though I didn’t know Him in my mind, my Spirit knew Him deeply. And He knew me.
Sometimes I wish I had known Him better back then. Maybe my childhood wouldn’t have felt so heavy. Maybe my teen years wouldn’t have been swallowed by anxiety and depression. But wishing doesn’t rewrite the past — and honestly, I’m thankful for the way things happened.
Because God used every piece of my story to draw me closer to Him. And after 24 years of running, He finally won me over. And in His victory, I won too.
The Accident That Should’ve Killed Me
When I was 19, I got into a major car accident — the kind you don’t walk away from. Except I did. I remember lying there afterward, shaken and confused, wondering, Why am I still alive?
Because, you see, just months prior to this car accident, I had been sexually assaulted and all I could think about was wanting to die. I was begging — praying (to a God I still didn’t believe in) — not to live anymore.
But instead of death, God gave me the scare of a lifetime.
I was angry at first. Angry that I survived. Angry that the pain didn’t magically disappear. Angry that I was forced to face my life instead of escape it.
I wish I could say that I stopped wanting to die, but ironically, this death scare actually made it worse. I kept wondering: Why me? Why am I still alive? I wanted to die; why didn’t you just let me die? I continued to curse the God I STILL didn’t believe in.
And continued for five more years.
The Calling I Didn’t Realize Was God
I always knew I was meant to be a writer. From the time I could write, I swore I’d be a New York Times Best Seller. It was my dream, my calling, the one thing that always made me feel alive.
But people told me I’d never make a living from writing. They told me it was unrealistic. And that crushed me.
So I quit. Then I started again. Then I quit again. And the cycle repeated until it wore me down.
Yet after the accident, it was the first thing on my mind. I knew — deep in my bones — that there was something I needed to write. Something important. Something life-changing. Something that would matter.
I just didn’t know what it was…
Fast forward five years: after therapy, healing, growing up, and clawing my way out of trauma… there was still a missing piece.
The Moment Everything Clicked
I’m 24 and everyone around me kept talking about God — my best friend, a coworker, my boyfriend (now husband), my neighbour. Even the books I was reading dropped Bible verses into my hands like breadcrumbs.
At first, I half-listened. “Ya-ya,” I thought. Not interested.
Until one day… I had finally had enough. My anxiety and depression was debilitating; whispers of death sang in my ears daily. So finally I thought, Why not try? Why not talk to God? Maybe He can help me before I do something that can’t be undone.
So I prayed. I fell to my knees, pouring out my heart and soul to God, praying He helps me before it’s too late… And praise the Lord! He helped me! He saved me.
Afterwards, I remember it feeling awkward praying, but it only lasted for a few minutes, because I realized it was the same thing I’ve been doing my whole life: just “talking to myself” when really I had been talking to Him without knowing it.
Finally, I started asking questions; I started reading; I started learning the stories in the Bible.
And every verse hit me like lightning — truth so sharp it cut through all the lies I had believed.
Who knew God really was the answer all along?
We Need Something to Believe In
So many people struggle with the meaning of life, and I get it — I lived trapped in that loop for years.
- If there is no heaven or hell, then why bother living morally?
- If there is no God, then what’s the point of suffering, loving, growing, learning?
- If life has no purpose, then what anchors us when everything falls apart?
We NEED something to believe in. We NEED God.
Believing in Him gives life direction. It gives pain purpose. It gives suffering meaning. It gives hope a place to land.
And telling you honestly — from my heart, from my scars — believing in God brought me more peace in the first few months of being saved than I had in the 24 years I didn’t know God.
You Have to Know God to Believe in Him
Earl Nightingale wrote: “Knowledge bestows faith, for he who knows God, believes in him. He who does not know him, does not believe in Him. Everyone believes in what he knows.”
You can only believe in things you know. And if you’ve never been taught about God, or you’ve only been shown a distorted version of Him, of course you struggle. But being an adult means you get to learn things for yourself.
You can pick up a Bible. You can ask questions. You can even talk to God.
So what’s stopping you?
“Come Back Home,” God Whispers
Your life will always feel heavier when belief is absent. Purpose feels far away without God. The world feels darker without the One who created light.
And if you’ve been searching… wondering… aching for meaning… hurting for answers…
God is right there beside you, waiting for you to turn to Him, so He can welcome you back home into His loving arms.