I have studied slowly and for quite a long time. This has only confused me and led to questions that noone in my church thinks I should even ask. They certainly make no effort to provide an answer except "pray about it" or "you just need to believe it". Sorry folks, my mind doesn't work that way.
Fantastic. You are definitely headed in the right direction. If GOD exists and gave you a mind he certainly expected you to use the sucker. Hell, except for the wrapping it's the biggest organ in your body.
So are there instances when you can choose to believe?
IMHO, yes.
As with anything, most folk look at the available evidence for something and that evidence determines belief. Whether we are talking about miricles, spirits, orbits, evolution, the Exodus or any other subject, the preponderance of evidence determines belief.
But it is also possible to make a conscious decision to ignore evidence. It is possible to say regardless of all the evidence that 2 + 2 = 4 I will believe that 2 + 2 = 5. You will be wrong, but you can hold that belief.
Aslan is not a Tame Lion