Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 215
TRANSCRIPT
There is a condition that is plaguing the Body of Christ. It is something that has been in existence since the Garden of Eden but recently it seems to be more obvious and is affecting more believers than in years past. That is the plague of unbelief and doubt. I want to talk about how unbelief and doubt might be stealing from you and how to guard yourself from this plague.
I’m Lee Whitman with Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. I think what is prompting this topic is what I am hearing more and more in the body of Christ. We did ministry recently and the main struggle this person had was believing that God answers prayer, or more specifically that God answers his prayers. He said that he prays about situations and he sees no change, which opens the door for this condition of unbelief and doubt to creep in.
Let’s start by defining unbelief. According to Faith Landmark, unbelief is a stubborn refusal or failure to trust, obey, and accept what God has spoken and revealed. Another definition I took from Highpoint Church is that unbelief manifests as a deep-seated resistance or refusal of the heart to trust God’s Word, His character, and His promises, going beyond simple intellectual doubt. Both of these definitions are pretty severe. They make unbelief sound like a deliberate turning away from God and His ways. I would give another side to this issue of unbelief. I think the unbelief that I am seeing in the body of Christ is a questioning that slowly erodes a person’s faith and ability to trust God. It is not a stubborn refusal as one definition says, but it is a slippery slope that leads one to struggle to believe God. I look at verses like Hebrews 3:12-13, which says in the Passion Translation, “So search your hearts every day, my brothers and sisters, and make sure that none of you has evil or unbelief hiding within you. For it will lead you astray and make you unresponsive to the living God. This is the time to encourage each other to never be stubborn or hardened by sins deceitfulness.” This unbelief will gradually pull a person down into the pit of unbelief and doubt. And unbelief and doubt will erode everything else in your relationship with Christ.
To understand this topic in context, we need to look at the beginning. I mean like “In the Beginning”. Unbelief and doubt are not a recent problem. They actually have been around since the Garden of Eden. God put man in the garden and told him to take care of the garden. He gave him the freedom to eat from any of the trees or plants in the garden except one tree. Think about all of the wonderful fruit and vegetables we have today when you go into your local grocery store. There are so many types of fruit that I have never tried. One day I want to try a Star Fruit. I have seen them in my store but have yet to actually have the courage to try one. My point is there is an almost endless variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from, yet Adam and Eve had to try the one fruit they were told not to eat. How did the serpent trick them into trying this fruit? By using unbelief and doubt. He said in Genesis 3:1, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” He hit Eve with a big dose of doubt. Did God really say that? Then in verse 4 he throws some unbelief into the mix. “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.” So even in the garden this one-two punch of unbelief and doubt were at work and the slimy snake in the grass is still using these same things to trick believers today.
Let’s talk about some of the characteristics of unbelief and doubt.
- Complaining and grumbling. How do you respond when situations happen that are not to your liking? Do you more frequently respond with complaining and grumbling, or through faith in the goodness of God? Are you able to receive good teaching from your church or are you being drawn to complain about the little things?
- Hardness of Heart. Do you find that you experience spiritual dullness or an unwillingness to be persuaded by the truth or evidence of God’s working in your life in the past?
- Fear and Self-Reliance – When struggle comes, do you rely on your self-effort and react to the situation in fear?
- Constantly demanding proof. Do you feel like God owes you an explanation, or do you want extra signs regardless of His evidence in the past? What has He done for me lately?
- Loss of Confidence. Drifting into restlessness, cynicism, or focusing on the negative in the church or church leadership.
I must give another warning to you about what you listen to on social media. I know there are many wonderful things on social media, like this podcast, but I must continue to warn that there are many voices that are pulling people away through unbelief and doubt. You can find any number of podcasts today on the evils of a certain church or a specific pastor. I have to ask what benefit is it to the listener’s heart and spirit to be filled with the negative about a church or a pastor. We talked with a very godly friend of ours the other day, and they said something to the effect that they have quit going to church because of all the negative talk. Instead of going to church and hearing a message about the amazing healing power found in the gospel, all they hear is negative talk about other pastors and churches. This is evidence of these spirits of unbelief and doubt at work.
So, if you find that you are having a battle with unbelief and doubt, I want to make a few suggestions. The place to begin is by cutting off the generational curse of unbelief. This thing began in the Garden of Eden and has had an effect on every generation since Adam and Eve. For this, you may need the help of a trained RTF minister to walk you through RTF ministry to cut off this generational pressure and the other tentacles that go along with it. Once the generational pressure is cut off, then there are some very practical things you can do to be rid of unbelief and doubt. The first thing to do is to confess this struggle openly with God. Tell God how you feel and the struggle you are having. He is not going to be upset or punish you for your honesty. By the way, He already knows how you feel. There is a great story in Mark 9:23-25 where a father brought his mute son to Jesus. I will pick up in verse 23: “Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” This is one of the greatest prayers in the bible. I think many of us can relate to this man’s prayer. We believe God on some level, even if it is just a mustard seed-sized faith. It is in these moments that we have to fight through our unbelief and skepticism and ask Him to help my unbelief.
Next in order to break unbelief, we must focus on the truth found in God’s Word rather than on the fear or skepticism. As you know, I have been fighting a battle with hearing loss for many years. I currently have a cochlear implant, which is an electronic device implanted under the skin and connected to the cochlear nerve in my ear that allows me to hear out of that ear. I am walking in a “I believe, help my unbelief” place with God. I know God heals. I have heard many stories of God healing totally deaf people and people like me who have severe hearing loss. I have had prayer for my hearing on maybe 25 occasions. I have asked God for my own healing more times than I can count. I have a choice to make. Do I focus on the fact that I have not been healed and fall off the cliff into unbelief and doubt, or do I focus on the fact that I know God can and does heal? I am choosing to focus on the truth found in God’s Word that He is a healer and not on my experience. Along with that, I will not and cannot entertain sermons or podcasts that put negative thoughts into my head.
Let me tell you a story. There was a young man named Brandon Burlsworth, who wanted to play football for the University of Arkansas. He was told his whole life that he was too small, that he was not fast enough, that he was not strong enough. But instead of allowing those negative thoughts to discourage him, he used them to motivate him. He kept putting the goal of playing for the University of Arkansas before him, even in the face of great odds against him. He was not good enough to get a scholarship out of high school, so he walked on to the team. Over time, he earned a scholarship and eventually earned 1st-team All-American and was drafted by an NFL football team. I tell you his story because he would often ask God to help him in his unbelief. He overcame the odds and did what others told him he could not do by trusting God in the face of others’ unbelief and doubt
When struggling with unbelief and doubt, you can’t be passive. To overcome, you need to aggressively change your focus. Like Brandon, we can’t sit back and let the unbelief and doubt win. We must make some lifestyle choices in the midst. That is really difficult because you probably don’t feel like doing anything different at that moment. A couple of practical things you can do are to immerse yourself in Scripture. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We need a steady diet of the Word of God to replace those negative thoughts. If you are not sure where to read, try reading the Psalms. If you read the Psalm that corresponds with today’s date, then skip ahead 30 chapters and read that Psalm, then skip ahead 30 more chapters, you can easily fill your mind with God’s word that is encouraging and faith filled. So, for example, on the 1st of the month, you read chapters 1, 31,61,91,121. Then on the 2nd, you read chapters 2,32,62,92,122. I would challenge you that if you do that for 30 days, you will see what happens to the unbelief and doubt.
Another important thing to do is something I have sort of touched on, and that is block out negative media. It might be negative social media, or even the nightly news, or even certain television shows. I was reading a book the other day and the main character talked about how they don’t believe in God because a good God would not let bad things happen. I can’t afford to fill my mind with negative things like that, even if it’s just for entertainment.
Another thing to be aware of is overthinking. Cindi and I call this “what-if” thinking. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” One translation says casting down vain imaginings. Those are the “what-ifs of life. Have you noticed that most of your what-ifs are negative? What if I lose my job? What if that pain in my stomach is cancer? What if my kids get in a car wreck? These what-if thoughts are usually fueled by doubt and unbelief. Instead of taking those thoughts captive and choosing to trust God with the unknowns of life, the what ifs keep us walking in unbelief and doubt. So instead of pretending that unbelief and doubt don’t exist, we move into active mode when they arise and take the thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.
Some of you are hearing this and say, “Well unbelief and doubt are not affecting much.” Can I say that even a little unbelief and doubt are too much. It is like only drinking a little poison. Even a little will hurt you.
PRAYER
Father God, we need Your help. We have been indoctrinated with unbelief and doubt from the Garden of Eden. It may even be affecting us, and we are not aware. Help us recognize when unbelief and doubt are at work in our lives so we can be totally set free from their effects. Thank you for joining us on this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. If you recognize unbelief and doubt at work in your life, go to our website at restoringthefoundations.org and click on the Get Ministry tab at the top of the page. There you will find a directory of highly trained RTF ministers who know how to help you get free from unbelief and doubt.
