A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:8
Only God could remove our double mindedness and bring stability to our lives.
Hebrews chapter 13 is a wonderful passage of scripture because it provides the key to ending the super-testing wilderness time and experience in a person’s life. The wilderness is where our faith and unbelief seesaw and we walk in the awful place of a spiritual no man’s land. We are totally prey to double mindedness.
And to whom sware he (God) that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 13:18-10
They entered not into God’s rest because of unbelief. It’s really that simple. That’s how it was for Annie and me. Some people believe some of the Word, but they stop there and never come fully out of their particular wilderness because they stop believing at some point and refuse to continue taking the promised land God has for them.
The wilderness Ann and I experienced when we were first married was really hard. We could not find rest and could not understand why others seemed to have found God’s rest. We found that we liked hanging around with others who were still stuck in their own wilderness experiences rather than choosing to hang out with those who had a confident assurance in Christ and His faithfulness. That seems pretty funny to me now that I write it down…
Thinking back on our lives in Oregon, Annie and I only began to come out of the awful wilderness we were in when God encouraged us to start doing and believing His Word, to begin to believe God. As a result of our obedience to believe God, we began to experience some spiritual breakthroughs and momentum. Some of our friends and family didn’t necessarily like that and even said we were “holier than thou” and acting “self-righteous.” More and more, we began to not care what they thought because we knew – really knew – God was directing us and healing us of the burden of our unbelief. He was bringing us out of our wilderness.
This morning (3-10-21), I was reading about how God told the children He was going to put on them all the things they complained about. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter the promised land because they believed what God said. I will be in the awful wilderness until I begin to believe God and silence my unbelief by doing His Word. This is how faith in God begins and continues developing. There is no other way.
Believing is the way out of the wilderness. God sets before me each day – beginning today – belief (life) and unbelief (death). Depending on which one I choose, I can either stay in or come out of the wilderness.
By the way, the three kingdom keys (we’ve shared over the last several months) God showed me years ago are His faithfulness to Ann and me making the decision to follow God out of our own wilderness.
God is so good and loves us more than we ever imagined. That is why we love sharing about how God has, and still is, teaching us the value of trusting Him and believing and standing on His mighty-delivering Word. There is nothing like it. Nothing.
These things I (Jesus) have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
And, because Jesus has overcome the world (the lying fiery darts of the enemy, our flesh, and all of the world’s unbelief all around us), He’s given us the victory over unbelief and we no longer need to revert back to unbelief whenever tribulation and trials come our way. Romans 8:28 (Jesus) can keep us believing because our precious, almighty high priest and Savior, Jesus, is working everything together for our good.
Believe and enter into God’s rest.
Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus!
Thanking and praising God in all things,
Mark
