Faithful God: The High Cost of Unbelief

Read: Numbers 35-36

These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Numbers 36:13

God is always faithful, even when we are unfaithful.

At the end of the book of Numbers, the children of Israel receive the Lord’s commands and regulations through Moses, as they stand on the threshold of the land of Canaan. God has faithfully brought them from their encampment at Mount Sinai, now to the brink of the Promised Land. The Lord has grown them from being enslaved people to being ‘People of the Promised Land’. The Lord taught them to be organized, cleansed, separated, and to remember God’s deliverance. They had God’s faithful presence with them throughout their journey. 

As they set out from Mount Sinai to the Canaan land, they murmured, complained, and rebelled. The result? A generation of unbelief perished in the wilderness. God led the nation for around thirty-eight years in the wilderness, with much motion, but no progress, through multiple occasions of rebellion, muttering, and complaining. The Lord had said not one of these rebellious people would enter the promised land (Numbers 14:30), and none of them did, except for Joshua and Caleb who believed.

Unbelief can be a dangerous path. When we allow unbelief to creep into our hearts and lives, the impact is far-reaching.

Seven Impacts of Unbelief

1. Unbelief creates a rift in our relationship with God, causing us to question His goodness, doubt His love for us, and struggle to trust His provision for us, leading to feelings of loneliness, guilt, and confusion.
2. Unbelief paves the way for hopelessness, leaving us feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and anxious.
3. Unbelief makes it difficult for us to resist sin. When we don’t have a strong belief in God’s power and grace, we are more likely to fall into patterns of sin, increasing our sense of guilt, shame, and distance from God.
4. Unbelief makes it difficult to connect with the body of believers, again leading to a sense of loneliness and disconnect
5. Unbelief, of course, hampers spiritual growth. Without faith, it is a struggle to understand and apply biblical truths.
6. Unbelief results in a lack of peace. When unbelief sets in, and we are not able to trust God and His plans, peace wings its way out, allowing worry and fear to overwhelm us.
7. Unbelief causes a sense of spiritual emptiness and disconnect leading to a lack of purpose and direction in life. A sense of wandering aimlessly, with no sense of purpose or meaning, missing out on the joy and peace of personal relationship with God.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Are you struggling with your faith today? Would you ask God who is mighty save, to help you have a heart that is willing to trust in Him to lead you?

Prayer

Dear Lord, I’m struggling with doubts and questions that are shaking my faith. Please help me to trust in your goodness and your faithfulness, even when I don’t feel it in my heart. Open my eyes to see your truth and your light. Restore my hope and my trust in you and help me return to you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture Writing: 1 John 5:4

Song: Mighty to Save

For more daily devotions like this At the Potter’s Wheel (Kindle)