Hindrances to your Healing-Unbelief

February 12, 2024

Hindrances to your Healing-Unbelief

What is Unbelief?

When we think of the word unbelief we can sum it up by saying that it is absence of faith, but what does that actually mean? 1 John 4:16 gives us some really key information to understanding the difference between having unbelief and having faith it states, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

It is one thing to have heard of God through your grandmother, your mother, your pastor, a friend, or even a stranger that you don’t know. It is an entirely different thing to know Him for yourself. It is not enough to know in theory what you hear about God, it is imperative that you also believe He is Who He says He is deep down in your heart. The words “have known” being used in this passage is the Greek word “ginōskō” which means: to become acquainted with, to know.

God is letting us know that the requirement of faith is to actually become familiar with Him on a personal and intimate level. The best way to get to know God is through His Word. He has given us everything that we need to know about His character, His will for our lives, what He expects from us, and His statutes and commandments all laid out for us in the Holy Bible.

The problem is that a lot of Christians rely on the sermon that their pastor gave on a Sunday morning and call that their devotional time. The Lord is abundantly clear when He states in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” It is our responsibility to study to show ourselves approved. God’s Word is literally our daily bread (Matthew 6:11) that we need to consume every single day.

The Lord wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him where we take the time out of each day to speak to Him. We have to get to know Him and learn to hear His voice so that we can be led by Him. John 10:27 reveals, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” As believers of Jesus Christ He is our Shepard and in order for us to follow Him we have to know and recognize Him.

Romans 10:17 gives us the understanding of how we are to develop our faith in Christ when Paul discloses, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith comes by hearing a Word from God which can be in the form of: a prophetic word given to you from God by someone, a sermon that your pastor preached that resonates in your spirit, a dream or vision that you had from God, and many other ways; but the primary way that the Lord speaks to us is through His Word.

In order for that to happen you have to read your Bible, study it, digest it, and apply it to your daily life. That is how your faith will continue to grow strong. Unbelief on the other hand is hearing God’s Word and completely disregarding it because you don’t truly believe that God is actually Who He says He is. So what you do is say you’re a Christian but your actions, your heart, and your words say otherwise.

Matthew 15:8 is the perfect verse that describes this heart posture when Jesus declares, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” We often underestimate the fact that God is the only One that truly knows the condition of your heart!

I have some articles pertaining to having true Faith in God: Build Your Faith-being a doer of the Word, Build Your Faith-Sharing Your Testimony, Build Your Faith-Praying in Your Prayer Language, Build Your Faith-Praying God’s Word ,God’s Measure of Faith, Mustard Seed Faith, Having Faith in God, Bible Verses on Faith, How to activate your Faith, and Hebrews examples of Faith.

Let’s take a look at the passage of Scripture that gives us an idea of being healed according to the level of your faith.

Matthew 9:28-29

“And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

A little bit of backstory on what is going on just before these two passages of Scripture. Jesus Christ had just come off of a boat headed to His city of Capernaum and on His journey He came across two blind men that were desperate to be healed. They called out to the Lord to have mercy on them, Matthew 9:27.

The Lord’s response is extremely telling when He states, “…Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Matthew 9:28. He is asking them to determine where their level of faith was. This is a clear indication of how significant it is to have established faith in God. Then Jesus’ answer goes even more into detail when He declares, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

The word “faith” being used is the Greek word “pistis” which means: trust or confidence whether in God or in Christ springing from having faith. Breaking down these verses of Scripture we can determine that the healing of these two blind men was directly correlated with their faith and belief that Jesus Christ had the ability to heal them.

The same goes for us today. Do we truly believe deep down in our hearts that the Lord has the ability to heal ALL sickness and disease? Or do we say that we do but when affliction hits our bodies we forget God’s amazing promises regarding healing from all sickness. Through our own abilities, there is no way that we could conquer illness but through the Power of the Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus, paired with God’s Word, and walking upright according to God’s Biblical provisions there is no demon from hell that has the power to overcome you Luke 10:19.

Let’s take a look at what God has to say about an unbelieving heart so that we can put into perspective how detrimental it is to have. Hebrews 3:12 details, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” The Lord is making it plain to us that if your heart is filled with unbelief it falls into the category of an evil heart (a heart revealed as distrusting).

God does not take unbelief lightly and in fact makes it known that it is impossible to please Him without having faith, Hebrews 11:6. He has done so much for every single one of us going so far as to give His only Son as a perfect living sacrifice on our behalf. For people to then deny His very existence is hard to even think about!

Matthew 9 is filled with many instances of Jesus healing those that are in need of healing. One circumstance in particular reiterates the fact of having faith being directly attached to the healing process. There was a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years unable to participate in normal activities like the rest of the people in the town as it was considered to be unclean for her to be out in public.

She risks everything having radical faith that Jesus would heal her; all she needed to do is just touch the hem of His garment. Matthew 9:21-22 depicts, “For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.”

The part of these verses out of God’s Word that I want to point out is when Jesus makes the statement that her faith has made her well. The message that He is trying to convey is that having faith that God is Who He says He is and that He can do what His Word says He will do WILL make you well!

The last passages of Scripture that I want to highlight is found in the book of Mark.

Mark 6:4-6

“But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.”

Jesus Christ made His way back to the city where He grew up as a young boy, Nazareth. The people in His home town who knew Him before He began His healing ministry could not believe that He was a person that could do the amazing things that He was doing.

Let’s take a look at the outcome of their unbelief, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Jesus was only able to heal a few sick people strictly because of their unbelief, imagine how many people that He knew personally that could have been healed, saved, and delivered had they had faith that Jesus Christ is exactly Who He says He is?!

Conclusion

One of the biggest hindrances to your healing is unbelief. God has given us every tool that we need to overcome every sickness, every disease, and every device that the enemy would every throw against you. The question is: do we truly believe that He did?

The fact of the matter is that it is impossible to please the Lord without having faith, Hebrews 4:6. If you struggle with your faith the best way to increase it is by getting into the Word of God and marinating on His promises. Let them get so deep into your heart that they become a part of your frame of mind, Romans 12:2.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Hindrances to your Healing-Willful Sin

God’s Preventive Remedy for Sickness and Disease

God’s Healing Power

Intimacy with God-Builds Trust

Having Trust In God

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?