“And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matt. 13:58)
I cannot comprehend this verse, I have not been given the wisdom to understand it fully, and so I pray, because of that, that I do not place a stumbling block before you who read this short letter. The fault is mine if I do.
This verse must be added here beside our opening verse. “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
The words I cannot fathom are “and he did not,” the verse says that the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made and consist, was unable to do that which He desired to do, it states that unbelief hinders God Almighty, and I cannot understand that.
Does the Living God need us to believe before He can accomplish His will? Why did the army of Israel start to lose the battle when Moses could no longer hold his arms up, was the Most High only able to assist them when two others helped Moses?
“And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.” (Mark 8:24) And so the Lord had to try again.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31) What if your belief is not strong enough, not real enough, what if there is the smallest piece of doubt still there?
What if is the true question my friends, what if there is unbelief, is the Creator of all reality unable to perform His will because of our unbelief, or are all things possible to Him?
As I said, there is no intention on my part to place a stumbling block in front of anyone, but the wise man seeks for more wisdom from the Almighty, and a stronger faith must be found in the most difficult of questions.
He did not because of their unbelief.
I place this before you, not as a stumbling block, not as a test of your faith, not in any disrespect of the Lord our God, but it must be asked. If you pray to be healed and you are not, there are two possibilities, either the Lord wants you in that condition, or He cannot heal you because of your unbelief.
And I cannot tell you how much I hated to see that sentence come out of my pen.
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numb. 23:19)
“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.” (Psalm 89:35)
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:” (2nd Thess. 2:11)
Cannot lie, will not lie and send a strong delusion. Contradictions or my inability to understand truth?
Does our unbelief hinder the will of God? Our opening verse says yes, my heart says no. Does our free will override the Sovereignty of the Living God? Can our unbelief cause the power of Almighty God to be lessened?
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalm 82:6)
Can a god, with a little g override the power of the Living God, with a capital G? No, never.
Then why was the Lord Jesus Christ unable to do what He had done for thousands of others in that small town, why was their unbelief of a greater power than the power in whom all things were created. The verse, for all intents and purposes, says God could not do what He wanted to do, it says unbelief can hinder God.
I must be missing something, something that has to do with our free will and the Sovereignty of the Living God.
For some of you it may be best if you forget this letter, throw it away. For others who desire to seek His face, this part of the path must be traveled.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13)
But can Christ do all things through me if there is unbelief?
