January 17, 2025
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."
- Hebrews 3: 12 N(KJV)
To enter the rest of God’s promise, we must receive His Word, believe it, and hold on to it in faith until it comes to pass in our lives. One significant obstacle to this process, alongside a hardened heart, is unbelief. Simply put, unbelief is the failure to believe. It is a conclusion we unknowingly draw about God’s Word that leads us to stop trusting in it, often because we stray from His teachings.
Straying from God’s Word typically begins with doubt. Doubt questions and probes our beliefs, and entertaining these doubts can lead us away from God's truth. For example, in Genesis 3:1, the serpent asks, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” Succumbing to such doubts can result in disobedience, as illustrated when Eve saw the tree was good for food and took its fruit – Genesis 3:6.
Hebrews 3:12 diagnoses an unbelieving heart as evil: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” This evil arises because, as verse 10 states, “They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.” When we stray from God’s promises, it often stems from a lack of knowledge about Him.
To enter the rest of God’s promise, we must receive His Word, believe it, and hold on to it in faith.
Those who know their God will be strong and do great exploits – Daniel 11:32. Joseph, who understood God's plan despite the trials he faced, told his brothers, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:20).
We rebel and stray from God when we do not understand His ways. As Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us, God’s ways are higher than ours, beyond our comprehension. Romans 11:33 echoes this sentiment: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”
Given that God's ways are not our ways, holding onto His Word, especially in tough situations where faith is tested, demonstrates our knowledge of Him. Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint – Isaiah 40:31. Ultimately, they will enter the rest of God.
Song of Worship
I believe,
yes, Lord I believe,
yes, Lord I believe,
it is well with me
Prayer - Dear God, give me grace to remain faithful, trusting in Your Word at all times in spite of the challenges I may face so that I enter Your rest in Jesus' name, Amen