“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’”

— Hebrews 4:3

Have you ever had a relationship with someone who didn’t have faith in you? If so, how did you feel, knowing you would never fail that person yet that person failed to trust you?

God feels the same way when we don’t believe in His power or desire to bless us. God feels pleased when we have faith in Him, and He feels angry when we don’t. In fact, our unbelief often short-circuits the blessings He has in store for us.

Consider, if you will, this tremendous lesson from the Old Testament. God promised to deliver the Israelites into the Promised Land. To get them there, He gave them straightforward directions: Go directly to the mount, receive the Ten Commandments, proceed to Kadesh Barnea, enter the Promised Land, and occupy it. Moses sent twelve spies to scope out the land in advance, to determine the obstacles that would have to be overcome before taking possession of the land. When the twelve spies returned, ten of them reported that the giants and walled cities were greater than the Israelites could conquer. Because of the Israelites’ reliance upon themselves and unbelief in God, God condemned them to wander for forty years in the wilderness. God said, “So I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” The Israelites did not place their trust in God; instead, they trusted in their own plans. And because they did, they delayed their entrance into the Promised Land. Their unbelief kept them from experiencing God’s perfect will for their lives.

God’s plan is perfect, and we need to submit to it. Otherwise we may find our hearts and souls in the midst of a vast wilderness, wandering because of our inability to trust Him. I encourage you to pray that God would give you the will to trust Him and His perfect plan. As you believe in His ability and desire to care for you, He will surely lead you to the Promised Land. He’ll lead you there even if you make the tiniest step of faith toward him by praying as the doubting man in Mark 9 did—“Lord, I do believe; help thou my unbelief.”

If you’ve missed God’s perfect will for you in the past because you’ve lacked faith, don’t be discouraged. You can still experience His will for you as you believe in Him. Trust in Him today, for He is faithful.

“When unhappy, one doubts everything.
When happy, one doubts nothing.”
Joseph Roux