Overcoming Your Unbelief

Faith is confidence in God, not merely believing that God exists somewhere. Hebrews 11:1 calls faith “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” and faith trusts that God can open the door and answer prayer. Unbelief, however, rises when doubts, fears, delays, and bad reports start looking bigger than God.

Psalm 106 gives the children of Israel as the clear example. Israel saw the plagues in Egypt, walked through the parted Red Sea, ate manna from heaven, and still forgot the multitude of God’s mercies. God remained merciful anyway, saving His people from the hand of those who hated them and making a way where there seemed to be no way. The Red Sea showed that God parts the waters for His people, not for Pharaoh, and God knows how to close the sea behind the enemy.

Unbelief forgets what God has already done. Faith remembers the Red Seas, the doors God opened, the bills He paid, the favor He gave, and the times a tragedy turned into a better job, a better opportunity, or a testimony. God has not changed. The God who parted one Red Sea can part another one.

Waiting on God also stands against unbelief. The drive-through mentality and microwave mentality want everything right now, but waiting means actively serving God with expectation. God makes everything beautiful in His time, whether the answer takes four days, four years, or longer. Faith waits because faith knows who it is waiting for.

Contentment guards the heart from lusting after what God has not given. Israel became tired of manna, lusted in the wilderness, and received their request with leanness in their soul. Godliness with contentment is great gain, and God’s people do not need to chase the world, force a blessing, or put themselves in bondage for a bigger golden calf.

Envy, idolatry, despising the journey, murmuring, and refusing God’s voice all feed unbelief. Faith celebrates when somebody else gets blessed, encourages the brethren, keeps Jesus above material things, and praises God even in a hard trial. God’s plan may be difficult, painful, and slow, but God is still good in the middle of it. The promised land was right before Israel, but murmuring turned them into grasshoppers in their own eyes.

God’s Word remains the primary voice that faith must hear and obey. Faith does not mean perfection. Faith repents, believes, receives Christ, and keeps walking when the giant looks big. Jesus cleans up the life that comes to Him in surrender, and without faith it is impossible to please Him.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Remember every Red Sea God parted Unbelief grows when God’s past faithfulness fades from memory. Faith deliberately remembers the times God made provision, brought deliverance, and turned what looked like loss into good. A written record of God’s goodness can become a weapon when present circumstances start preaching fear. [49:03]
• 2. Wait on God with expectation Waiting is not doing nothing while life stands still. Waiting on God means actively serving Him while expecting His timing to be right. God can resurrect what looks dead, but faith refuses to run ahead and collect scars from forcing its own way. [53:34]
• 3. Contentment breaks the power of lust Lust begins when the heart says God’s present provision is not enough. Contentment does not mean a person cannot desire good things, but it refuses to make desire into a master. God knows how to bless without adding the sorrow that comes from grasping, debt, and discontent. [55:36]
• 4. Celebrate another person’s blessing Envy cannot agree with faith because jealousy quietly resents what God has done for somebody else. Faith praises God when another believer receives the house, job, opportunity, or breakthrough still being prayed for. Encouragement and celebration bring believers into agreement instead of turning them into competitors. [59:47]
• 5. Hear God’s voice and obey God speaks through Scripture, the Holy Spirit’s leading, godly counsel, and even circumstances. Faith listens when God says go, and faith stops when God says do not go. Israel failed because it refused God’s command in both directions, but obedience keeps a believer on God’s path.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:12] - Faith and the Problem of Unbelief
• [32:00] - Conditional and Unconditional Promises
• [33:39] - Psalm 106 and God’s Mercy
• [39:28] - Israel Forgets God’s Wonders
• [41:14] - God Makes a Way at the Red Sea
• [49:03] - Remember What God Has Done
• [52:53] - Wait on God’s Counsel
• [55:11] - Contentment Instead of Lust
• [58:10] - Reject Envy and Encourage Others
• [64:18] - Put Away the Golden Calf
• [71:23] - Do Not Despise the Journey
• [75:11] - Stop Murmuring in the Tent
• [79:49] - Hear and Obey God’s Voice
• [81:36] - Repent, Believe, and Receive

Bible Reading

Psalm 106
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. They had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
[00:33:39] [00:39:28] [00:41:14]

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
[00:29:12]

1 Timothy 6:6
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
[00:55:36]

Numbers 13–14
And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there... And they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’ Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.”
[01:15:11] [01:19:49]

Observation questions

1. According to Psalm 106, what had Israel seen God do for them before they reached the Red Sea, and what did they fail to remember?
2. What actions and attitudes are named in Psalm 106 after Israel forgot God’s works—especially concerning waiting, craving, jealousy, idols, murmuring, and obedience? [00:48:50]
3. In Numbers 13–14, what did the spies acknowledge was good about the land, and what facts caused them to give a bad report?
4. What does Hebrews 11:1 say faith has confidence in, even when the answer cannot yet be seen?

Interpretation questions

1. Psalm 106 says Israel “soon forgot” God’s works after they had believed and sung His praise. Why can a person praise God after one answer to prayer but still struggle to trust Him in the next trial? [00:49:03]
2. Israel did not wait for God’s counsel. What is the difference between passively doing nothing and actively waiting on God with expectation? [00:53:34]
3. How does 1 Timothy 6:6 help a believer tell the difference between a healthy desire for something good and a desire that has become lust or discontentment? [00:55:36]
4. Israel saw themselves as grasshoppers when facing the giants. How can a bad report, fear, or delay cause a believer to see a problem as bigger than God’s promise? [01:18:15]

Application questions

1. What is one “Red Sea” God has already brought you through—a time He provided, opened a door, protected you, or turned a loss into something good? How could you remember that answer when fear starts speaking again? [00:51:41]
2. Is there an area where you have been tempted to force an answer instead of waiting for God’s counsel—such as work, finances, a relationship, housing, or a major decision? What would active waiting and faithful service look like this week? [00:53:34]
3. Where do you feel most tempted to say, “What God has given me is not enough”? How could contentment change the way you handle spending, debt, possessions, or future plans? [00:57:27]
4. When someone else receives the job, home, opportunity, relationship, or breakthrough you have been praying for, what is your first inner response? What would it look like to genuinely celebrate and encourage that person? [00:59:47]
5. Is there anything good in your life that could quietly become a “golden calf”—something that receives too much attention, identity, time, money, or trust? What would putting Jesus first in that area look like? [01:05:10]
6. What kind of murmuring most easily comes out in your home, car, workplace, or private thoughts? When you catch yourself complaining, how can you honestly bring the struggle to God while still choosing praise and repentance? [01:17:10]
7. What is one area where you sense God calling you to obey through Scripture, the Spirit’s conviction, wise counsel, or clear circumstances? What step of obedience can you take without running ahead of Him or holding back in fear? [01:20:06]