2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

If you are a new believer it can be a mighty strange but exhilarating time of your life. You have realized God’s grace right down to the heart and all things truly have become new. New desires, new wisdom, new friends, new family, new love for God, all things have become new, not just somethings, but ALL things.

Now with this newness of life, you realized a strangeness in that while your old friends are calling you a cult member, the fellowship of believers might also be rejecting this newness. They say it “just a phase” you are going through. Why is this?  After all, you know in your heart it is definitively NOT a phase.

Jesus explains in Matthew 13:20-22 “ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

You might be a brand new saved Christian by the grace of God, but others will doubt, they will point fingers, some will just be in a wait and see mode, some will call it a phase. The Apostle Paul spent 10 years on his own because of this. The rest of the Apostles did not trust his conversion. But as we know, Paul went onto to be the most instrumental Apostle to the church of them all.

I can’t tell you how many people in my life viewed my conversion as a “phase”, but will say ALL of them did.  Some thought it would pass, I would return to Catholicism, some thought I would go back into doing filthy sinful things with them, and even Christians I knew at the time believed it was just a passing phase that my motive for conversion was less than truthful and when it would of passed, I would be on my merry way back into my former life.

“Forgive them for they know not what they do”

Because we can’t read the heart of others nor can we judge the future, doubt in a conversion is natural but also is suggested in discernment.  As Jesus said, some receive the word with joy and are enthusiastic to be a part of the church, but this lasts only for a little while, they fall away.  So don’t take other believers doubt in your new life as a condemnation, but do as Paul did, accept it and learn during that time from God directly through His word.

Like a sprouting plant, make no mistake, God takes extra care of new creations in Jesus Christ. He is always going to be 1000 steps ahead of you and will guide those who trust in Him.  I know from my own experience, it is a time where God wants 110% devotion and trust.  He does not want you wandering off into myths or into false teachers.  So take this time to commune with God.  Don’t rush off into a fellowship where God has not allowed.  You will know this by always staying a sprouted plant that never grows or matures despite the watering through the word of God.

Bottom line?  The world will doubt your new life, but always understand that God never doubted it!  Trust in Him, let the world doubt away.  Then just watch how He works in your life and will put you on the path for His will alone.  At the proper times, God will place other believers in your life who won’t doubt but accept you for the child of God you are.   Be patient, and allow God to guide each step.