Disillusioned: Don’t Stop Believing

By Pastor Monique Lopez Ong

Doubt is different from unbelief. Doubt is a struggle within the faith. You have faith, but you question it and you are open to God. Peter stepped onto the water but doubted. He never would have stepped out if he had no faith (Matthew 14:22-33). God meets doubters with compassion and revelation (Mark 9:24). Doubt can be turned to deeper faith once Jesus is encountered. Doubt can lead a person to seek and find truth.

Unbelief is a willful refusal to trust or believe God. There is a hardened stance against Him. It rejects Gor and closes the heart to God’s truth. The Israelites in the wilderness saw the miracles of God, yet they chose not to trust Him, which kept them from entering the promised land (Hebrews 3:18-19). Unbelief is sin and rebellion (John 3:18). Persistent unbelief leads to judgement. This cuts a person off from God’s promises and salvation.

Mark 9:17-29 says, “One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.””

‭‭

Some people believe that they believe but they really don’t. Your brain is affected when you show unbelief. It is the reason behind anxiety (Hebrews 3:12), stress (Hebrews 3:19), social isolation (Hebrews 10:25), high risk of despair on crisis (John 3:18) and hopelessness (2 Corinthians 4:4). If you do not have a God, you have a higher risk for stress. That is the reason why you should lock yourself in a small group. They cannot solve your problems but they can pray for you and lift you up. Those who go solo get sick and die younger. We are not meant to be alone. God designed us to be among our kind.

When there is unbelief, it hardens your heart. Hebrews 3:12 says, “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.” It leads to spiritual blindness and distance from God. Unbelief gives a pack of rest and peace. Hebrews 3:19 says, “So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.” It robs people of peace and joy in Christ. People with unbelief are more vulnerable to lieas. 1 Corinthians 4:4 says, “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.” Unbelief also has eternal consequences. John 3:18 says, ““There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

Persistent unbelief leads to eternal separation from God.

Mark 9:24 says, “I do believe; help me overcome my undelief.” This happens inside the church.

Believing unbelievers are really unbelievers. He is outside the faith and does not know the Lord. He is really unbeliever but are receptive in seeking for the truth. He is actually a person who is an honest seeker of truth, looking for sufficient evidence to justify their belief.

Unbelieving believers are inside the faith but are struggling with doubt that contradicts the faith. They worship and pray but live with a disconnection between their belief and their actions. They believe in theory but struggle in practice.

There are many types of unbelieving believers.

1. Intelectual believer - knows the bible but doesn’t trust in it. (James 2:19)

2. Conditional believer - they believe only when things are well; their belief is based on circumstance (Matthew 13:21)

3. Practical atheist - they say they believe but lives without a God (Titus 1:16)

4. Fearful believer - believes but doubts God’s power for them (Mark 9:24)

5. Selective believer - picks and chooses what to believe; chooses parts of the bible which are applicable to them and ignores those that which step on their “rights” (2 Timothy 4:3)

6. Religious believer - tradition over transformation; having a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5)

God wants to increase your faith. He want you to become a believing believer. He wants you to turn your unbelief into faith.

How do you turn your unbelief into faith?

1. Acknowledge and confess your struggles and doubts to God (Matthew 17:20) - authentic faith begins with your honesty.

2. Cry out to Jesus in your weakness. (Jeremiah 33:3; 1 Peter 5:7)

3. Commit to a life of prayer and dependence on Christ (Philippians 4:6-7)

4. Fix your eyes on Jesus and practice being in His presence (Hebrews 12:2, John 15:5)

5. Trust in the power of Christ; not in the strength of your faith. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Expect that the Lord always has good things in store for you. Declare it with your mouth that He is God.