Monday, April 4, 2016

Three Causes of Unbelief

Submitted by Sam Nobles
And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.
(Mar 6:5-6 ESV)

Unbelief can hinder what God wants you to receive
It wasn’t that Jesus couldn’t do the mighty works; man’s wickedness is not so powerful that it mutes or restrains God’s power. Rather, had Jesus blessed these unbelieving people he would have been blessing people where there was no desire for blessings, filling needs where there was no consciousness of need, and healing people who would have resented being told they were sick.

Three Causes of Unbelief
1. Preconceived Ideas
People have preconceived ideas about how God should do things, and when things don’t work how they think it should, they shut down and don’t believe God. When Elisha the prophet told Namaan the leper to dip in the Jordan River to receive his healing; it made him angry because that is not how he thought things should go (2 Kings 5:11). Namaan preconceived ideas of how things should happen were keeping him from receiving the healing that God wanted him to have.

2. False Familiarity
The people of Jesus’ hometown could not see Jesus as anything other than Mary and Joseph’s son. Therefore, they wouldn’t receive the blessings that he wanted to give them (Matthew 13:54-58). Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because “you know who someone really is” that the Lord could never use that person to impact and bless your life. Wonderful things happen when you are looking for the Lord – He shows up at unexpected times, in unexpected ways, and through unexpected people.

3. Doubt
When Peter asked to walk on water with Jesus he quickly started to sink. Why? The Bible says that he saw the wind and the waves and began to doubt (Matthew 14:30-31). Doubt makes its approach to your mind and causes you to think about and focus on things that have no bearing on what really matters in your situation. Wind and waves have nothing to do with walking on water, but that is what Peter was focused upon.


Scripture to Claim:

…All things are possible for one who believes. Mark 9:23b ESV

Devotional Archive