“Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)
The writer of Hebrews is giving us warnings against unbelief. I feel like his emphasis is so strong here in verse 3, if he had a mic and a speaker he would be blasting it at eleven (a little Spinal Tap humor).
And what is his warning? Watch out for an unbelieving heart.
An unbelieving heart.
Is that all? Doesn’t sound so dire does it? So why then does he take it so seriously?
He takes it seriously because it is. It’s a matter of life and death. Verse 14 says this: “For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end”, and verse 18-19 “whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” Disobedience is the fruit of unbelief. And what were the people of Israel of whom Hebrews is referencing not believing? They failed to believe that God would be faithful to fulfill His promise to them to bring them into the Promised Land. His delay was a test of their faith. They failed miserably in that test. Their circumstances and God’s delay caused them to doubt. Their doubt grew into unbelief. Their unbelief caused their disobedience. Their disobedience caused them to fall.
So then how can we avoid that same pitfall when we encounter a test of our faith. How can we have a believing heart when our circumstances seem to tell us that God isn’t there or that He doesn’t care?
To believe someone is to take them at their word. God has spoken to us through sacred Scripture. His Word tells us He is for us, not against us, that He loves us so much that He gave us His very best in His Son, that He is with us always, even to the end of the Age, that He is our refuge and our strength, our Mighty God in a time of trouble. The list goes on and on.
When our circumstances tell us one thing, God tells us another. If we trust Him we will believe what He says. And when we believe, we can endure with hope. And in a loving community of believers, we can encourage each other with the Truth.
“The confidence of my calling enables me to overcome every difficulty without shame, for I have an intimate revelation of this God. And my faith in him convinces me that he is more than able to keep all that I’ve placed in his hands safe and secure until the fullness of his appearing.” (2 Timothy 1:12)