The sin of unbelief

Incredulity hurts the heart of God more than any other sin. We Christians denounce the sins of the flesh, but God is concerned about the sins of the heart - doubting His Word or questioning His faithfulness. The true things of life and death depend more on what a person thinks than what they do.

I have known Christians who had given up all the sins of the flesh that they could have thought of but, despite "the purification of their actions," they remain today agitated and dissatisfied. They think that God will be happy if they give up their hidden sin, that the blessing will automatically flow from it, but they are mistaken. The sins of the flesh are only part of the problem. They learn to fear the Lord, but not to trust Him, and fear almost always gives birth to unbelief.

Through His Word, God graciously gave us certainties to have absolute trust in Him.

"If you go to bed, you will be without fear; And when you go to bed, your sleep will be sweet. Do not fear either a sudden terror or an attack from the wicked ; For the LORD will be your assurance, and he will keep your foot from every ambush" (Proverbs 3: 24-26).

"Do not give up your insurance, for which a great reward is attached" (Hebrews 10:35).

"We have with him this assurance, that if we ask something according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that He is listening to us, something we ask, we know that we have the thing we asked of Him" (1 John 5: 14-15).

Heavenly Father has made wonderful promises to us. Do not give in to fear and doubt ! Confront unbelief as you would any abominable sin. Set your heart to trust in God - and remember the words of the psalmist : "He does not fear the bad news ; His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is firm; he has no fear" (Psalm 112: 7-8).

David Wilkerson