Let us Repent of…Unbelief

There is so much that we can get into regarding unbelief; a brief blog post cannot properly accommodate its massiveness. So today’s post will be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. My hope is that you will be encouraged to dig deeper.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” – Mark 9:24 (NKJV)

Unbelief is not uncommon, it happens. Like the boy’s father in Mark 9, we believe but still there’s a modicum of doubt that lingers within us.

This father had brought his possessed son to the disciples first, but they were unable to cast out the demon. Jesus was not at all happy about that. His frustration towards His disciples is evident in His reaction,

“How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!” – Mark 9:19 (GNT)

Jesus’ disciples were with Him day in and day out, experiencing an intimacy with Him like none other, eyewitnesses to His incredible miracles, listening to His wonderful Spirit-filled teachings, and hearing His dynamic sermons, yet they, like the boy’s father, were plagued by unbelief.

Imagine, after all that those disciples went through with their beloved Rabbi, even after Jesus’ resurrection, there was still unbelief. The disciples were hiding out in a locked building “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19); understand, the building, it was locked, and when Jesus appeared in their midst, those disciples, His own disciples, were terrified and filled with unbelief.

We believe in Jesus, we have experienced His Hand in our lives, we believe in His love, mercy and compassion, we pray but when He shows up, we’re doubtful that it’s Him and full of unbelief that He can fix our situations.

So, we pray repeatedly and nothing happens, we cry out, “if you are able to do anything, help us!” (Mark 9:22 NRSVUE)

but Jesus is saying, “If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:23 NRSVUE)

We believe to a point. We need to believe absolutely.

Beloved, the issue isn’t a lack of faith, it is too much unbelief. Understand that faith and unbelief can co-exist but unbelief, which is very subtle, counteracts our faith, so it must be removed. Let us repent, change course, and “Only believe!” (see Mark 5:36)

It is through the power of Jesus’ Spirit at work in us that we can overcome our unbelief, but we need to allow Spirit to invade our hearts to remove the hard layers of its outer shell, transforming our hearts by relieving our fears. When we invite Jesus to walk with us and talk to us daily, suddenly we have that “Peace be with you“ moment, as we realize that deliverance has occurred, and our unbelief is gone.

Please don’t think that this will happen in an instant, for a few it might but for most it is a process. Know that the measure of faith that you’ve been given is more than enough as long as that pesky unbelief isn’t present counteracting it.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Let us Repent of…Unbelief” © March 12, 2025