Over the next few weeks I’m going to keep writing around the topic of faith, believing and receiving from God but also the things that hinder that. God showed me about a year ago that unbelief was a problem for me but if I’m honest I didn’t exactly understand what it was, as it is more than just ‘not believing’. Today I am sharing what I’ve learned through the word on this topic, in particular that doubt and unbelief are different and how to avoid slipping into unbelief.

In Romans 4:20 it says Abraham did not waver through unbelief, however if you read Genesis 15:2-3, Abraham does doubt. Although he’s received a promise (Genesis 12) that he will become a great nation, he is now doubting that he will have a child that is his own flesh and blood.

So in response to Abraham’s doubt, God reminds him of the promise he made to him in Genesis 15:4-5 and it’s Abraham’s response which is so vital to understanding unbelief.

“Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness” Genesis 15:6

Abraham’s positive response to God’s promise is why he did not waver in unbelief. Yes he wavered in doubt, but he did not waver in unbelief. Why does this matter?

If we look at faith metaphorically, faith would be like being in first gear in a car, you are in agreement with God’s word and you are moving forward with God towards the fulfilment of the promise.

Doubt is like coming to a stop and sliding into neutral. Doubt comes quite naturally, you let the impossibility of the situation get to you and you are begin to question God, is he able? Will he do it? Will it really happen for me? But when struggling in doubt, you are poised between faith and unbelief. This is where Abraham is in Genesis 15. He has a choice. Nothing in the natural realm has changed, the situation remains the same. He can either choose to believe God’s promise again or he can choose to believe his doubts. But he chooses to yield to God’s word and believe! He comes back into first gear and begins moving towards the promise again.

But if Abraham had chosen in this moment, where God reminds him of his promise, to keep doubting and questioning, then he would’ve fallen into unbelief. Unbelief is like being in reverse gear, you are directly resisting God’s word and his promise. You refuse to believe in the promise over and above what you are experiencing in the natural realm. In other words you have more faith in your doubts then you do in God’s word. If you resist God’s promise in this way, you will never receive it.

For example, the Israelites had the promise that God had given them the Promise Land but in the natural realm it looked impossible to take the land. They chose to rebel against God and refused to believe that his word was enough for them to conquer the land. By their unbelief they sentenced themselves to 40 years wandering in the wilderness. This generation was unable to enter the Promise Land because of their unbelief. The same goes for us. We will never step into the realm of fulfilled promises if our hearts are unbelieving.

So how do we not fall into unbelief? When we feel doubt come, go back to God’s word, the promise you are standing on and choose to adopt the same posture as Abraham! “Be fully persuaded that God has the power to do what he has promised” (Romans 4:21), no matter what the situation in the natural realm looks like! We have to actively set our hearts to believe and refuse to yield to unbelief. Only then can we receive the fulfilment of the promise.