We often talk about the power of faith. And we should because faith is powerful. Jesus even said that all things are possible to those who believe.
But unbelief is also powerful.
In the book of Hebrews, the writer touches on Israel’s Old Testament journey to the Promised Land. God caused the unbelieving generation of His people to wander and to die in the wilderness. According to the Scriptures, “They could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19).
Note why they missed out. It was not because of immorality. Nor because it was not the will of God for them to reach their destination, for it was. God was the one leading them to the Promised Land because He had promised it to them. But many of them missed out on seeing and inhabiting it because of unbelief.
Is It Not the Will of God or Is It Unbelief?
This biblical account of Israel’s experience was not written to us for historical information only. It is also a warning to us. Just as Israel did, we too can miss out on what God has for us because of unbelief.
”It must not have been the will of God.” I sometimes hear Christians make that statement. They may say those words, for instance, after praying for something a long time but to no avail. Sometimes, however, the problem is not that it was not the will of God. Rather, our unbelief is sometimes the problem.
Let me be quick to add some balance to what I just said. Some Christians believe that unbelief is ALWAYS the reason others fail to receive from God. In other words, Brother John did not get healed of cancer because, they say, he lacked faith for his healing. This is not where I am coming from in this post. My objective is simply to underscore the fact that unbelief is sometimes the sole reason we miss out on the will of God for our life.
Church attendance is not necessarily the answer to a problem with unbelief. You can be a faithful churchgoer and still live in unbelief. Some time ago, I met a man who had been preaching for years even though he did not believe the Bible. He no longer stands in a pulpit, and is now admittedly an atheist!
The Israelites heard the Word of God each Sabbath day. But an entire generation failed to realize God’s promise to them because of unbelief. We are warned in the Scriptures to take heed. “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2, KJV).
Faith and Receiving from God
Clearly, if you allow unbelief to dominate your life, it will cause you to miss out on the promises of God like nothing else will. No wonder Jesus taught so much about faith during His public ministry.
Faith in God is the only cure for unbelief. That’s why you should faithfully build and deepen your faith through a daily consumption of the Word of God.
Faith is the key to realizing the promises of God in your life. Jesus confirmed that doing His public ministry when He spoke these words: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (Mark 11:24, NASB).
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.