Help My Unbelief
God is so good.
On Tuesday, a friend sent me a devotional titled “Inconceivable” by Kelly McFadden.
“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’”—Luke 1:29-33
In the movie The Princess Bride, the character Vizzini leads his ragtag group of criminals to kidnap Princess Buttercup. Along the way, Vizzini continues to call certain events “inconceivable”: that a ship is following them, that anyone would know their plot, that the man in black would be able to scale the Cliffs of Insanity, etc. Finally, Inigo – one of the criminals – looks at Vizzini and says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Inconceivable is defined as “so unlikely or surprising as to have been thought impossible; unbelievable.” Just as for Vizzini, there are things in life that fit this description for me almost each day. There are things that seem impossible, but happen any way.
I think Mary originally felt that it was inconceivable when the angel told her she would be with child. Her first response was “How can this be so?” But it happened. Can you imagine her trying to explain this to her parents? What if a teenager came to you and said, I am still a virgin, but I am pregnant with the Savior of the world. INCONCEIVABLE! But, with God’s involvement, the inconceivable happens.
Somewhere, though, we too experience the inconceivable! When we encounter Jesus, suddenly what seems inconceivable is possible. In that encounter with God, we go from a lack of faith to faith, from disbelief to belief.
It seems impossible that God would come in flesh. He did. It seems impossible that He would live a sinless life. He did. It seems impossible that someone could be crucified as a sacrifice for our sins and raised from the dead three days later. It happened. How do I know? Because I have had a personal encounter with our Lord and realize that nothing is impossible with God.
It was exactly what I needed to hear. The word inconceivable always reminds me of The Princess Bride, where Vizzini keeps using it incorrectly until Inigo Montoya finally says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Lately, I feel like I’m in the days of labor pains—a spiritual battle where the enemy is doing everything he can to wear us down.
Wednesday morning, Tom and I were supposed to meet with the pastor, but as we were getting ready, I suddenly remembered someone mentioning he would be out of town. We hadn’t heard from his secretary, and Tom hadn’t received a confirmation email. I called and left a message, then sent an email. Turns out, the meeting never made it onto his calendar. A small mercy—we didn’t waste a long drive.
Later that day, we had A with us, and since it was a beautiful, warm day, we took full advantage of it at the park. The enemy tried so hard to stir up irritation in me toward Tom—old critical, judgmental thoughts creeping in. But I recognized them for what they were. I kept reminding myself: Look at the plank in your own eye first. Don’t fixate on what you think he should work on. It was a tough day, but not nearly as bad as it could have been.
That night, CT came over, and we talked for hours about our struggles, but also about how amazing God is. I love talking with her—she understands me, knows where I’ve been, and can see where I am now. Watching her grow in her walk with the Lord is incredible. This is my passion and desire—to see people set free from the enemy’s chains and bondage!
This morning, SS called to ask about the house. They need to show it to potential renters this weekend unless we decide to stay. I called him back and let him know—we’re staying. Because we haven’t heard the Lord say, “Go.”
Tom and I also decided to spend the weekend praying about whether to cash out the 401k. Another decision where we want to be fully surrendered.
On his way to meet RT this morning, Tom was railing at God again—angry, frustrated, demanding answers, then feeling bad and apologizing. But after his time with RT, he felt so much better. Driving home, he listened to a teaching on the radio about Mary Magdalene and how she was there at Jesus’ crucifixion, at His burial, and was the first to see Him after He rose. The angel asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:15). And it hit Tom—Why are we crying? Jesus has risen. He is alive. We have no reason to weep in hopelessness!
When he got home, we read our Oswald Chambers devotional together:
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means "I must have it at once." Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today "the third day" and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
Wow. All we could say was wow.
We had to read it two or three times because it was so profound. It spoke directly to where we’ve been—feeling discouraged when things don’t unfold the way we expected. But the truth is, spiritual dejection is always wrong. God is always working, even in the ordinary.
We look for signs, visions, and earth-shaking moments to prove He’s with us, but in reality, He is moving in our everyday lives. He calls us to simple obedience. Do what is right in front of you, and you will see Him.
God, you are so amazing in how you lovingly discipline us and set us straight!
CB sent me the below devotional today saying it reminded her of my day on the treadmill:
‘Help Me Not To Doubt’
by Jon Walker
“I do believe, but help me not to doubt!” (Mark 9:24, NLT)
Recently, I've been thinking my life verse should be Mark 9:24: “… I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (NIV)
I do believe, yet I have so much unbelief in my life. I walk in faith, yet my faith is often more in the things I see than the things I don’t see. I follow God, yet I repeatedly find myself stumbling down a path of my own choosing. Paul teaches this is a common disorder among Christians, but he also says the cure for our unbelief is, quite simply, to believe God.
In the midst of our complex negotiations with God on the subject of belief, Paul sums up the issue with one simple phrase: "Abraham believed God …." (Romans 4:3)
· Abraham believed God to be a loving Father;
· Abraham believed God wanted fellowship with him;
· Abraham believed God would speak with him;
· Abraham believed God would listen to him;
· Abraham believed God wanted to use him in a great mission;
· Abraham believed God knew more than he did when the childless patriarch was called to birth a great nation;
· Abraham believed God was telling him to go, even if it was to a land he did not know;
· Abraham believed God would guide and provide step-by-step.
· Abraham “went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)
Abraham acted on his belief because he was in intimate fellowship with the Father, and this “up-close and personal” relationship showed Abraham that God could be trusted to do the things he said he would do and to fulfill the commitments he promised to complete.
Abraham believed God. Paul believed God. I believe; God, help me overcome my unbelief -- · I believe; help me live like I believe. · I believe; help me make decisions like I believe. · I believe, my Lord, you are trustworthy; help me to abandon my mythology that says I am more trustworthy than you.
“Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led,” writes the great saint Oswald Chambers. “But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason – a life of knowing him who calls us to go.”
What does this mean?
· ‘Help my unbelief’ – You cannot work yourself up to greater belief; rather, your belief will deepen as you deepen your fellowship with God. Tell him, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”
· Believe God, not yourself – As you face decisions today, ask yourself: “Is this decision based on my belief in God, or my belief in myself?”
· Move from ‘if’ to ‘of course’ – God's desire is that you to move from “if God can do this” to “of course, God can do this!” He doesn’t expect perfection from you; if you could be perfect, then Jesus needn’t have died on the cross. Even Abraham failed to believe God at points along his journey.
· Listen to Jesus – When we say, “Help me, if you can,” Jesus says, “If I can? Don’t you understand that everything is possible to you when you believe?” (Mark 9:21-23)
· Keep confessing – Lord, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief.
That’s what I need to do.
- I believe, but help me live like I believe.
- I believe, but help me make decisions like I believe.
- I believe You are trustworthy, Lord—help me abandon the false belief that I am more trustworthy than You.
Lord, I don’t want to just believe in You for the answers—I want to take hold of You, not just the outcome of my prayers.
I got confirmation today that yesterday (2/6/08) was my official termination date from Cogenics. Part of me feels sad, part of me relieved. I truly enjoyed my time there and learned so much. But I know—I had to cut my reliance on myself and fully trust in God’s provision. He gave me that job. He extended my time there. And now, He is asking me to trust Him completely.
I also heard from KT today. She’s been struggling with her health, and her grandmother is in the hospital. She’s dealing with her own challenges right now.
Lord, I lift her up to You.
Help me, Father, to focus on the day-to-day tasks You’ve given me, instead of obsessing over the bigger picture. You keep reminding us: Do what I’ve called you to do, and I will take care of the rest.
I believe, Lord. But please—help my unbelief.
