Unbelief

First published April 1, 2020

I try to make a habit of reading through our missionaries’ updates, the newsletters from my co-workers. I want to know what’s going on with them and sometimes, with permission, I like to share their stories on our social media. A few weeks ago, I read one from a friend who had realized that in his walk with the Lord he needed to repent from the sin of unbelief. He realized that he had trusted Christ with his salvation but then failed to trust Him to equip him to learn the language of the people he’s working with. Because of this, he often felt defeated and discouraged. He was sure he’d never learn the language. It made me wonder . . . with what in my life do I commit the sin of unbelief?

There have been days where I doubt that the Lord is using me. When I am sure I’m not helping anyone here connect with their church. But what a prideful thing to think, as it has nothing to do with me at all. If the Lord wants to use me in this way or that, He will, if I let Him. What about you? Where do you have a hard time believing the Lord can work? Do you doubt God could use you? Do you doubt that God has this whole world pandemic thing under control? Do you doubt He could use this situation for good?

One thing I’ve found over and over again, as I bring my doubt and my unbelief to Him, He often brings affirmation and reassurance- not right away, not when I’d like it the most. But over the next few days, He reassures me with messages that say that He is using me to make a difference, even if it’s not always in the big way I’d hoped for. And even if I seem to meet with closed door after closed door, eventually He will open the right one.

Trust. It’s all about growing in recognizing the trustworthiness of the one who created and loves us. Why do we doubt?