Unbelief: how to identify it and get rid of it
Your brain is a future predicting machine. It loves to imagine potential outcomes for every situation you are about to encounter. Before you give a presentation, you can already picture yourself, clicker in hand, ready to describe the meaning of images you found on a google image search.
More often than not, your brain plays reels inside your imagination of all the things that could go wrong. You can see the bored looks on people’s faces as they check their phones instead of listening to you long before you ever start the presentation. You grow so used to the content inside of your head that rather than scrolling past the anxiety-producing clips, you watch them, wondering if your brain is as shrewd as the pundits who predicted the economy’s demise in 2008.
I used to more passively consume the negative forecasts served to me by my prefrontal cortex, until I sensed God speaking to me a powerful word about unbelief last year.
I had known unbelief was a bad thing in general. It was the military checkpoint in Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth that wouldn’t allow any miracles to pass through (Matthew 13:58). It was the dam that stopped the flow of power needed for the disciples to deliver a boy who was oppressed by a demon (Matthew 17:18-20). And ultimately it was the knife that cut off God’s people from entering the promised land (Hebrews 3:19).
But I had personally found unbelief hard to identify. Is it a feeling? Is it inaction? Is it something that others can see in me that I can’t see in myself?
As I was praying last year, I sensed God pointing out that my negative predictions of the future were unbelieving thoughts, and that I was not to look into the future anymore through lenses cracked with unbelief.
I never really liked negative predictions about the future filling my brain (as thinking about a negative reaction from somebody can be more painful than the negative reaction itself). But I had never really thought about these thoughts as some kind of sin or something I should repent of.
There are other types of thoughts that I knew are sin (arrogance, lust, jealousy, bitterness, etc…). When those came into my head, I knew I shouldn’t lay out the red carpet, make a nice dinner, and entertain them as guests. But for some reason I hadn’t ever thought about negative predictions about the future as being an item for confession.
As I pondered what it would look like to live a life without all of my negative Nancy synapses, I felt concerned that I would lose the ability to plan. Generally, I would imagine negative outcomes and then work to create a plan to avoid them. Sometimes it’s the thought of a car accident that causes you to put on your seat belt. How am I to create contingency plans for all of life’s potential dangers if I can’t see them in my head?
As I pondered my newfound problem, I sensed the Lord saying, “Invite me into your pictures of the future.” Picture me there with you in those places. Instead of being subject to my brain’s algorithm full of future failings, I could begin to experience Christ’s peace and rest.
As I have begun to practice this new way of engaging the future, I have experienced a profound increase in peace. I wanted to share with you a few practical steps as you attempt to rid yourself of unbelief and enter into a life filled with a fullness of faith.
Be aware. Just being aware of negative predictions of the future can help you to have victory over them. When a negative thought about the future pops into your head, just knowing that this is something that you don’t want to be there can help you overcome it.
Repent. If you find yourself indulging in negative thoughts about tomorrow, repent and confess it to the Lord, just as you would if you were dwelling on some kind of lustful fantasy. Recognize that this isn’t just an issue for therapy but something that isn’t pleasing to the Lord can increase its sense of seriousness.
Invite Jesus into the future thought. Instead of trying to reject the thought, you can just invite Jesus into it. Let him turn it around and show you what He wants to do in the situation.
Pray and give thanks. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to give thanks and ask for God to help us. Sometimes negative thoughts are an invitation to pray.
Give yourself grace. If you struggle with negative predictions of the future, then your brain has probably created some solid pathways to access these thoughts. Recognize that it’s going to be a process of building new thinking patterns.
I created a course for leaders to help them see God’s vision for them in the future. I would encourage you to take it if you struggle with negative thoughts, as one of the most powerful ways to get free of negative thinking is to be able to hear God’s voice in your life.