July 18                                          2 Chron 14 - 16

DOUBT AND UNBELIEF

MEMORISE: ‘And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief? (Matt 13: 58)
READ: James 1: 5- 8

When you start out in faith but at some point begin to waver and nurse feelings of uncertainty, this is doubt. Doubt renders you double minded thereby making your ways unstable. Our reading also says that those who doubt will not get anything from God.

In Matthew 14: 22-32, the disciples were in a boat one night in the midst of a storm. Jesus walked on water towards them. When Peter was assured it was Jesus, he asked if he too could walk on water and Jesus asked him to come. He left the boat and stepped onto water. Surprisingly, it had solidified and so he looked to Jesus and kept walking towards him. But when he heard the roaring of the boisterous sea and saw the waves, he took his eyes off Jesus and fear struck him as it dawned on him that he was out on the open sea. Then he began to sink. When he cried out, the Lord asked why he had doubted. Jesus helped him and both of them walked back towards the boat, on water!.

When you doubt, you get into trouble. When you take your gaze off Jesus to look at the problem or mountain, you are likely to fall. You have been trusting God for a huge blessing. But at some point you felt the size of the blessing you were requesting was delaying its manifestation, so you switched to a smaller blessing. That is doubt. God can do exceedingly, abundantly above al you can ever ask him. Stay on in faith. That blessing will materialize.

Unbelief, on the other hand is total absence of faith. For instance the counselor of the king of Samaria did not believe God could provide abundantly for them within 24 hours. His unbelief led to his death. Unbelief ties God’s hands from working as he desires. Matthew 13: 54-58 says Jesus could not do many mighty works in his home town because of unbelief. Unbelief is an affront to the Trinity. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus when he saw their unbelief. The children of Israel could not enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Unbelief is a killer. Enemies could not stop the Israelities: unbelief did. Ask God to destroy doubt and unbelief in your life s that you can enter your rest in every area.

ACTION POINT
Doubt is a terrible thief. It can rob you of all
God’s great blessings. Cast it out of your mind today.