Addressing Unbelief
The verse above is taken from the story in Matthew, when a ruler came to Jesus to ask him to come and lay his hands on his daughter who had just died. Jesus followed the man to heal his daughter and when he met the crowd weeping in the house, he tried to console them. He told them that the girl was not dead but asleep. The crowd laughed at Jesus. Jesus did not get into a debate with the crowd to try to convince them of what he knew to be true. Neither did he allow them to stay in the house so that he could prove them wrong. He put them outside of the house, took the child by the hand, and the girl arose.
Unbelief can affect our performance of what God has asked us to do. There are some assignments that we have been asked to complete, that we have to be careful of who we select to go along with us. Many assignments need a team and other people to support us. We need to be surrounded by people who believe in our vision and dream. Someone with a negative attitude can drain your energy and cause unbelief. Negative attitudes are contagious and we have to decipher those who are with us or against us.
The worst thing is to have people close to us who pretend to be committed to our goals, but are secretly sabotaging our efforts. “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me”” (John 13:21). Even Jesus had a silent enemy who pretended to be in support of his mission. Judas seemed to have been swayed by greed and possibly envy or jealousy. Other times people can be controlled by a spirit of rivalry and competition. Either way, we need to be surrounded by people who see the best in us and believe in our potential.
Life is hard enough as it is without people in our inner circle who mean us no good or who are constantly critical, judgemental and negative. We have to pray about our relationships and connections and ask God to expose fake friends and people who mean us no good. It is important to also listen to what people say as many people are betrayed by their words. Jesus taught us about a tree and it’s fruits. “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
A.P.-Y.
Published by Anneta Pinto-Young
I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession.
Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm.
I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing.
I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.
View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young
Published
September 10, 2021September 15, 2021
