Jesus Lifts Your Unbelief

When life takes tough turns, human nature tries to take back control. The result is more and more stress and little time knowing a genuine peace and contentment that God wants us to know.

The first readers of Hebrews struggled to know this level of rest, too. They doubted God because their faith in Jesus was putting them in danger. Their difficult circumstances overtook their focus and weakened their ability to believe in God.

That happens to all of us. Doubt creeps in and robs us of the joy and confidence of trusting Jesus. That usually happens in tough times.

Yet, God urges us to resist those darker forces of unbelief. Nothing good will come of that. Just like the Israelites who struggled to believe in God, we can find ourselves wandering in the wilderness of doubt and fear, when we lack a simple faith. God wants us to avoid those unnecessary pitfalls.

In fact, God’s remedy for doubt flows out of the encouragement of fellow Christians. Encouragement has the wonderful effect of lifting despair and bolstering faith. Kind words, offers of prayer, joyful Spirit-filled worship, and loving time spent encouraging one another—all are effective in defending against those nagging doubts that push us from God rather than nudge us closer and closer to Him.

Although this is primarily a warning to believers, it has application to unbelievers too. When people put up intellectual barriers to the message of the gospel, the problem they have is also unbelief. Unbelief blocks the light of Christ and prevents the glory of God in Him to penetrate their hearts.

In other words, some people are too smart for their own spiritual good. But unbelief is not an intellectual problem; it is a spiritual problem. Perhaps you resist the truth about Jesus because of what you perceive as an intellectual barrier. The minute your heart is ready to give that up, at that moment your intellectual problems will dissolve. God by His Spirit will lift the veil of unbelief from your mind and shine the light of Christ into your heart. That is how you come to know God.

You can experience the fullness of what God has planned for you in Jesus when you trust Him and when you believe His Word. You become a “sharer” in Christ of all God’s grace and goodness.

But we need to hold on tight to what we believe. Stay focused on Jesus and resist the doubt and fear and relentless pull of unbelief. When you do, God promises wonderful blessings and rest.

An entire generation of God’s people perished in the wilderness because they couldn’t trust God to do what He said He would do. How sad. Sadder still would be for you to miss His goodness and blessing because you refuse to trust His Word for you. Jesus has invited you to trust Him with your whole life. In exchange, He promises to bring you to heaven one day where you will enjoy eternal life with God. And while you live your life on earth, He will provide all you need to live for Him and share His wonderful love and grace with others who need Him, too.

Next: Learn the ways Jesus is better than even Joshua.

1. What does it tell us about the Christian life that believers who were
so close to the time of Jesus here on earth, and the Apostles who had followed Him, desperately needed encouragement to continue in the faith?

2. How do believers trust God differently today than is seen in the Old Testament?

3. Why do you think the Jewish Christians, who were the original recipients of Hebrews, needed to be reminded that Jesus was superior to Moses?

5. How can trusting and obeying God lead to rest?

4. Take an honest look at your life. Is there anywhere in your thoughts or actions or attitudes that Christ does not have a place of
utmost prominence?

6. What does it say about life here on earth that one of the biggest descriptions of salvation is entering into rest.

7. Rest is so important to the writer of Hebrews because the Old Testament Israelites had failed to enter into their promised rest because of disobedience. Imagine you were able to go back in time and talk to those Israelites who failed to trust God and were forced to wander the desert for 40 years. What do you think they would have to say about their decision?