“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”. Alas, a prayer I have prayed many times (and you probably have too). It can be a commendable prayer when it diagnoses the problem and turns towards God for help. But honestly, I don’t think we tend to understand the gravity of this whole unbelief thing.
Unbelief Says “God is Not Trustworthy”
The author of Hebrews warns us against “an evil, unbelieving heart” (Hebrews 3:12). This isn’t a heart that is merely trusting God a little less. According to the writer, unbelief possesses an evil quality. In fact, the unbelieving pathway ultimately leads to falling away from the living God! It is no small trifle. This is distrust, rejection of who God is and what he’s done.
Charles Spurgeon once described unbelief as a “mistrust of the promises and faithfulness of God”. According to the Prince of Preachers, unbelief denies God’s perfections and power and flings his mercies toward sinners back in his face. Unbelief is effectively calling God, if not an outright liar, at least a bait-and-switch artist.
I don’t think we tend to feel as strongly about unbelief as God does.
One biblical example comes from the story of the prodigal son in Luke 11. The younger son demands that his father give him the share of property that he was going to inherit. When the kid looked at his father and then pondered his own future, he imagined that life would be better if he could manage his own affairs. With the father, that is, picking up the tab. You see, the son failed to understand one of the main lessons about dads. When a father is trustworthy, he deserves to be trusted.
The prodigal’s father had already provided him with food, clothing, and shelter. He had given him important work to do on the family property. He had listened to his woes, patched up his scuffs and scrapes, and shared with him the wisdom he acquired over many years. Yet the son rejected him. The foolish boy failed to believe his father could and would continue to do what was best for him. The younger brother embodied a hedonist, the elder one a legalist, but one thing remained fixed in the story. The father could be trusted.
Unbelief Says “God is Not Good”
Put yourself in the place of that father. Imagine you have always told the truth to your child and kept your promises. Your disposition has always been gracious—even in those moments of discipline and chastisement. You’ve been merciful, kind, helpful, and constantly available.
Now imagine still further how you would feel if your child frequently doubted your goodness. Perhaps they shrank from you waiting for a backhand, or maybe they betrayed a belief that you would really repossess everything you freely gave and then toss them out empty-handed. Despite your track record of love, care and fidelity, your child reacts emotionally or physically like you just can’t be trusted.
Just imagine the affront to your character. Think about the insult to your benevolence, the assault upon your integrity. Imagine how it would break your heart.
Most Christians, beginning with me, rarely see themselves carrying that kind of sin-infested, bold-faced unbelief. But it happens. A lot.
Sadly, unbelief isn’t confined to the big moments of disease or destitution. Unbelief starts in little things. We get a bad report on the kids; our plans for the day are interrupted; expenses rise or your income drops unexpectedly. Now we’re wondering, without skipping a beat, if God is a cosmic con-artist.
My friends, we must heed the stark warning in Hebrews 3:12. Unbelief isn’t just a little doubt to be coddled or tolerated. It is a seed growing quickly into hard, evil hearts of disobedience that operate on false ideas about God, lead us away from him, and ultimately bars us from the good place God calls us to inhabit. (Hebrews 3:19).
My friend, make it your passion today to fight unbelief through the grace of repentance. The gospel is good news for people who cry “Help my unbelief”. Christ’s confidence in the Father was perfect and his resurrection power restores our vision of the Savior who is worthy of our trust.
Don’t let your suffering reinterpret the suffering Savior. Speak words of faith to your soul and hold your “original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:14). When we do, we can live confident that we belong to the household of God over which Christ rules as head (Hebrews 3:6).
Today’s Question
Do you typically think of unbelief in the way it is described in Hebrews 3:7–19? How might the gospel address the areas where you are struggling right now with unbelief.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you know my heart. You know the places where unbelief continues to reside and rear its ugly heart. Please put those to death and fill my heart with trust in you. I believe, Lord. Please help my unbelief!
| Photo by Richard Lee on Unsplash |
