Unbelief Is a Thief

The Bible tells the story of a woman who was pleading with Jesus for her daughter, and she was very persistent in her faith. Jesus answered her prayer and said, “Dear woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28 NLT).

Faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening.

For example, the Bible tells us that Jesus could do no mighty works in His hometown of Nazareth because of their unbelief (see Mark 6:5). Jesus went to other cities and miracles would happen. Demons would come out of people. The blind would receive their sight, and the deaf would hear again. People with leprosy would be cured.

But when He went to Nazareth, they doubted Him immediately. Maybe they thought, “Jesus? We remember him when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. We remember him working at the carpenter shop with Joseph. We knew that kid.”

Yet that “kid” was God incarnate and the Messiah.

We can stop the work of God in our lives by unbelief. Unbelief is a thief. In Scripture, we can see how God works through people exercising their faith to produce amazing things.

For example, God could have parted the Red Sea by His own power. He didn’t need Moses to hold up his staff. Instead, God said, “Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:16 NLT).

God also could have done other things like bring fire down from Heaven on the altar when Elijah faced off with the prophets of Baal. He didn’t need Elijah to call for that fire. But God wants us to exercise our faith. He wants us to be a part of the process. So we need to call out to Him.