Help my Unbelief

Lessons

I (Sunrise Chapel) received an email from someone we haven’t heard from in a little while. I believe it was back in January of 2020 that I received her first message. It was about her daughter’s dreams. She had apparently been going through some rough times and was having pretty vivid dreams (nightmares) and was hoping they weren’t an omen.

I think we did pretty good responding to that one but now, as I will get to, she has another question for us.

Another letter from Kathy (Gainesville)

Your sermon last week was very inspiring on The Healing Power of God and why we may not even see the miracles that continue to happen around us. I have a question for you tonight though. My daughter and I are asking each other these same questions:

  1. Where do we find God?
  2. How can we see Him?
  3. Can we actually feel Him?
  4. How can we hear Him speaking?
  5. How do we know when it is truly Him?

I know, for you, its probably easy to believe as you seem very close to God. When I listen to you talk, its as if I can see you sitting on the ground, looking up at Him, and simply having a casual conversation.

Please note, I said easy for you… a man of faith.

I would like to ask though, how can those of us who do believe get better at believing and trusting that God will always come through?

I seem to recall a verse in the Bible about a man asking for Jesus to “help my unbelief” but I can’t seem to remember how Jesus answered that one.

As always, thank you for what you do and the time you take to always respond to my emails. It means a lot to me, my daughter and a lot of friends. God Bless!

Kathy D., Gainesville, FL.

First of all, Kathy, let me start with the story you mentioned in the Bible.

One “instance” is told in Mark, when a desperate father brough his demon possessed boy to Jesus to heal him.

Mark 9:21-24 – “21How long has this been happening?’ Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, ‘Since he was a little boy. 22The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.’”

“‘23What do you mean, If I can?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes.’

24The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’”

This same story was also told in Matthew. Again, adding to the validation of our Bible being true!

After Jesus had healed the boy, His Disciples asked Him why they couldn’t drive it out…

Matthew 17:19-20 – “19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’

20He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’”

As you can see here, it really doesn’t take all that much. God isn’t expecting us to teem or abound with faith… He just wants us to have just that little bit that you leave room in your lives for Him.

Okay, lets go on to Kathy’s questions.

Where Can I Find God?

This one is relatively easy. The honest answer is, it depends on where you’re looking for Him!

If you’re looking at the things in this world, you are way off track on not focusing on the things of God, but instead, what man believes in and what man values most.

From Moses:

Deuteronomy 4:29 – “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

It then goes on, in the Old Testament, basically reiterating what was said in Deuteronomy…

Jeremiah 29:13 – “13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Do you see where I am going with this?

  • You can’t seek God within your mind/thoughts.
  • You can’t look for Him in the bar.
  • You won’t find Him sitting at the movie theater enjoying a box of popcorn and taking in a flick.

He is there; always has been and always will be… in your heart… the thing that gives you life.

How Can I See God?

This one gets a little more complicated to understand. Lets start with another one of the books of Moses.

Exodus 33:18-20 – “18Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”

19The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. 20But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”

This one kind of scares me, “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”

After that, I don’t know if I want to see God! But lets look a look at the start of that message, “You may not looks directly at my face.”

Does anyone here think they’ve seen God? Personally, I believe I’ve seen Him many times but, not “directly at His face.”

Okay Kathy, you called me a “Man of Faith” so let me give you some examples of where I HAVE seen God.

  1. The Love of a Spouse – Real Love!
  2. The Love of a Child – The Innocence!
  3. The Love of a Mother – Forgets the pain!
  4. The Kindness and Generosity of Others

This is where I have seen God. He is in each and every one of us that believes in Him and He shows himself in all that is good; all that is righteous; and all that is heart-felt and true!

But, the good news, from Jesus – The Beatitudes (Sermon on The Mount)

Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Seems kind of unobtainable doesn’t it… especially in this world and today’s age… but it doesn’t mean we can’t strive to be so!

How Do I Feel God?

I would like to start this one with another verse from the Old Testament from the Prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 43: 1-2 – “1But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
      I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters,
     I will be with you;
    and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.’”

We have talked about this before. How many trials and tribulations have we all faced? Quite a lot, I’m sure. You felt those didn’t you?! So then, for the most part, we’ve got to understand all these trials as lessons… do you not teach your children lessons to help them grow?

But we “somehow” made it through, didn’t we? And once again, how many of you have gone through these trials and gotten stronger because of them? I’m sure I could answer that question with the same statement I just made… “Quite a Lot!”

I’ll go back to me again here. I feel God SO much but its not in the way you might think.

  • When the Sun rises – The warming of my Soul
  • When the Sun sets – Time to put my cares away
  • When the rain hits my Face – The cleansing of God
  • When the wind caresses my whole Body – I’m getting a hug from God!
  • When I look at the Depth of the Sky – I see the glory of creation and our Almighty God

Okay, there I am talking about Nature… God’s creation and finding the beauty and the glory in that alone. How about some other ways?

  • When I hold the one I love at night as I fall asleep –
  • When a friend holds me –
  • When someone sits and listens to a raging lunatic about his stress at work or home yet forms no judgement of me whatsoever –

How Can I Hear God?

Another relatively easy one. There are so many ways we can hear God. As we’ve already spoken about, it all starts in our hearts… in believing in Him and trusting in His promises.

The Apostle Paul tells us the easiest way to hear God.

Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Hearing through the word of Christ is easy… READ YOUR BIBLES! If you’re puzzled or at a loss as to where to start, I’d suggest starting with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

Secondly, coming here! As much as we might have an off-day from time-to-time, you will always hear God’s words here.

Again me…

  • Gospel Music – Sing praises every day!
  • The Wind and Rain – Feel God surrounding you!
  • Sounds of Nature – Listen to Him!

How Do I Know its God?

Last, but not least, how do we know? Well, if you’ve been listening, I think you have your answer. If you understand and believe in all that we’ve just spoken about, you will know.

Romans 8:28 – “28And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Bottom line is, if its good; if its righteous; if it brings you or someone else peace; if it makes you feel, from your heart, like you’ve never felt before… It is God!

Watch this Lesson

In Conclusion

I know how hard it can be to believe today. I understand the struggles we ALL have with our faith from time-to-time. If you’ve listened to all we’ve just spoken about, you can see, if we just make a little effort (mustard seed), how easy it can be to believe. Faith is believing in God! Feed your faith by being grateful.