Faith in Lord Jesus and resultant salvation bring the presence of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly kingdom in us. But, being surrounded by overwhelming darkness of evil around us, restrains us from believing and living in this blessed state. Unbelief settles on our hearts as a heavy stone and a veil of blindness over the eyes. Then we become blind to the light and the truth of God’s empowering presence and continue in our ways. Only with a sincere and deliberate effort can we be freed from this bondage and step into this light.
Why do believers suffer from doubts and unbelief? All the references to God in the first three chapters of The Book of Genesis, detailing the creation and fall of the universe differ. In the first chapter, God is referred to as ‘Elohim’, God as the distant, majestic Creator of the universe. In the second chapter, He is called ‘Yahweh Elohim’, the same God who draws near, to form man, breathe life into him and develop a close relationship. The progression shows God as Powerful Creator – Personal Covenant God – Personal Creator who in love walks with us. But when the devil, through the serpent, started the dialogue with Eve, he referred to God as ‘Elohim’, as a God who is distant and mighty, seated on His throne in heaven and not as a close and relational God (Genesis 3:1). The sin of Adam and Eve was in unbelief about the loving God who, in His desire to be close to them, not only provided everything but would meet them every day to strengthen that relationship. Instead, they believed the lie of the devil that the best fruit of the Garden, God has withheld from them. From ‘Yahweh Elohim’, they reduced God’s very stature to ‘Elohim’ alone.
God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he loved, as ‘a burnt sacrifice’ (Genesis 22:7-14). Abraham obeyed and while moving to the designated mountain, Isaac asked his father about there being no lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham’s reply was, ‘Elohim Yireh will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering’. His belief was in the Creator who looked from heaven and filled his need for a son and the same God will definitely see and meet the need for the lamb ‘for Himself’, for the offering was His command and desire. However, after receiving and sacrificing the ram provided by God, he named the place as ‘Yahweh Yireh’, acknowledging the relational God as the One who sees and provides.
The forces of darkness lead a believer to look at ‘Yireh’ without the first part ‘Yahweh’. We desire the abundance of His Garden, where He has placed us to care for it, but we do not want to be close to Him. We shun relationships, for that requires us to live according to His ways. Lord Jesus came to establish and also restore the old relationship of God with mankind (John 14:15 & 23-24). He has taught, ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments’, for He as God desires obedience. Then He defined the reward as the same what Adam and Eve had in the Garden, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him’. God desires a close relationship of togetherness.
We learn about Lord Jesus and in need we turn to Him and get to know Him through His Word. God wants closeness but we seek fulfilment of our worldly needs first and the devil exploits this with the same line that he used with Eve, of accusing God with being stingy and not giving freely. We start following his lie, while God may be testing us, training us or preparing us to receive the desired blessing and not be filled with pride.
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Apostle James and Salome, mother of Apostles James and John, brought spices early on Sunday morning to anoint the body of Lord Jesus (Mark 16:1-5). They were faithful in their relationship with the Lord, despite the pain of His crucifixion. They supported His ministry from their resources and then took the first step immediately after the Sabbath, of moving to the tomb to anoint the body for preservation. The ministry and contribution of the women in the Church needs to be recognised and lauded. They respected the Jewish tradition of observing the Sabbath but also moved in faith to the tomb after that. We also must respect the religious traditions without in any way compromising our faith and obedience to the Word of God. Many a time believers follow the extreme of either part and the spirit of religionism takes over.
The Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, could tell Herod and the magi about the place of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:4-5). But in their zeal to follow the tradition, they failed to recognise the Saviour Lord. It is ironic that ‘He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him’ (John 1:11). The religious spirit leads us to start following man-made traditions, while giving priority to these, even over the Word of God. Once that happens, the heart gets focussed away from the truth and the eyes see what the heart is looking at from within. Mary Magdalene and the other ladies worried about the heavy stone rolled before the tomb to seal it. Still they moved in faith in God that He will provide a way for them to anoint the body.
The darkness will be there but God shines the light in the darkness when we turn to Him. Our job is to move just like the miners in the earlier times, who had a small lamp on their helmet and could see only one step at a time. God shows us that one step and as we move, it starts becoming clearer to move ahead and we keep moving to reach the destination of being close to Him.
Reasons for difficulty in removing this stone of unbelief – Joshua was chosen by God to lead His people into the Promised Land, after Moses died. The LORD God commanded him to have the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant be in the lead to cross the flooded Jordan River (Joshua 3:15-16). As soon as the feet of the priests ‘dipped in the edge of the water’, the waters ‘stood still, and rose up in a heap very far away at Adam’. The Israelites crossed over on dry ground, while the priests continued to stand in the centre of the river bed.
The Ark contained The Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments, engraved on these by God Himself; Aaron’s Rod that Budded, as a testimony of God’s authority given to Aaron as the High Priest and the Golden Jar of Manna, the food provided by God during their travel from Egypt and wanderings in the wilderness. Any opposition that we face can only be handled when we move with all three, God’s Word, His power and authority in the Holy Spirit and gratitude for His provisions. The devil and his forces keep us focused on the obstacle, rather than on God and it becomes a giant before us.
Bethany was the usual place of stay for Lord Jesus while being in Jerusalem and He ‘loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus’, their brother (John 11:5-43). The sisters sent a messenger to the Lord about Lazarus’ sickness but ‘He stayed two more days in the place where He was’ and moved back only after Lazarus had died. Martha complained about His absence and her brother’s death. The Lord declared to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live’. On reaching the tomb where the dead man was laid, Lord Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone’, that was used to seal the tomb. Martha replied to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days’. When we face a situation for some time and there is no apparent reason for that, we must try and understand the cause, if it is of demonic origin. We can never handle such hurdles in our own strength and need to move carrying the Ark of God’s Covenant with us. God’s presence brings new life and any stink of our past sins gets cleansed and removed.
While facing Goliath, the giant, David could say to him, ‘I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel’ (1 Samuel 17:45-46). He moved with God’s presence and absolute faith in God’s help. He could then say, ‘This day, the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you’. God desires that he not be equated with anyone else, for He clarifies, ‘My glory I will not give to another’ (Isaiah 42:8). Glory refers to His supreme honour, majesty and Sovereign status. Before calling Lazarus to come out of the grave, Lord Jesus prayed to God the Father in heaven, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’. This was to glorify God before all present there, that it was His power working through His Son that would cause the miracle to happen.
King David worshipped God and said, ‘Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations’ (Psalm 108:2-3). God sets the time of the dawn but he praised God first thing in the morning and thus set the way for the whole day. The first town that the Israelites were to capture was Jericho, a strongly fortified place. Joshua was commanded by God to go around the town once, for six days, and on the seventh day go seven times, in faith, for the town to fall into their hands. On the seventh day, after the seventh round, when the priests blew the trumpet and the people shouted ‘with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat’. Everything in Jericho was destroyed except the gold, silver and other precious things that were deposited in the treasury of the Tabernacle, as an offering to God.
When God’s presence is acknowledged and He gets the glory, the blindness gets removed and the way is opened for us. On our own, we keep on struggling and there may be some success but eventually we get stuck.
Removing the stone of unbelief from our hearts – We must, first, understand the reason for this to happen, so that we may be able to get the remedy also. We believe and trust someone, whom we know intimately and we also recollect his behaviour in the past. Anyone who stands by his word and readily reaches out during difficult times is considered reliable. King David challenges every one by saying, ‘Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him’ (Psalm 34:8). But how can one taste God? The Hebrew word ‘taam’ means ‘to taste, to perceive’ and the call is not to stay away but get close, to live in and experience His goodness. In this manner we can then trust Him and start receiving the reward of His love and abundance.
Judas Iscariot kissed Lord Jesus to identify Him to the guards to arrest Him, yet the Lord called him, ‘Friend, why have you come?’ (Matthew 26:50). When we know God, we realise that He never turns away from us, and He came looking for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after their sin. After the command to love the LORD your God, Moses also defined the way to do so (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The Word of God must be in a believer’s heart and the process starts during childhood only. The parents are not only to teach their children but to speak to them at every opportunity during the day. This is to ensure that the children understand their identity as children of God and be strong in struggles and sufferings also. Apostle John has referred to himself, five times in his Gospel account, as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ (John 13:23). It is impossible for the Lord to have loved him more and not the other disciples. But only Apostle John got to know Him so intimately that he could live filled with His love.
God has defined the sort of relationship that He desires with all believers (Hosea 6:6). He has declared, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings’. Again, the command to ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). In this and various other places the Hebrew word ‘yada’ is used, which means ‘to know, perceive, deep understanding, personal experience and intimate relationship’. It involves the entire being of the individual’s heart, soul, emotions and spirit, to be filled with the love of and for the LORD. This same word is also used for marital intimacy between husband and wife. God knows us all in this manner, for He has created us and knows our minds. We, with our earthly wisdom, want to please God with our works and offerings while David asked us to be still and to stop our own efforts and let God’s love overflow and overwhelm you.
Apostle John had experienced this love of the Lord and could say, ‘let us love one another; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God’ (1 John 4:7-8). He could even say, ‘he who does not love does not know God, for God is love’. Between the two sisters Martha and Mary, God did not choose one over the other. Martha was always worried about serving the Lord with the best she could prepare, while Mary grasped all that He taught. Both used the same words of complaint to the Lord, at the death of their brother, but Mary surrendered to His will and ‘fell down at His feet’ before saying anything (John 11:32). With such a close and intimate relationship with God, the delays in answers to our prayers are accepted as a blessing, for He alone knows what is good for us. God had withheld the fruit of the ‘Tree of knowledge of good and evil’ to save mankind from experiencing the evil, which would then overwhelm mankind. With this intimacy with God, the stone of restraint and blindness cannot afflict a believer. But even if one falls prey to the lies of the devil, strong relationships will ensure their freedom and turning back to the Lord.
When life’s circumstances become so difficult, that no way forward is visible and the desire to try some other option becomes strong, realise that the battle is of demonic origin. Then shift focus and spend maximum time in worship, prayer and meditation of the Word of God. Only this Light can remove the darkness and show the way. Filled with doubt, the devil wants us to overcome our worries by adopting some way beyond and outside God’s commands. The answer lies in getting a firm and strong grip on the promises of God in His Scripture and seek their fulfilment!
