Four Helps to Escape the Kryptonite Power of Unbelief
I fight this battle every day. And I have certain vulnerabilities to unbelief that are so disorienting and discouraging that sometimes I want to despair and just give up. I need help.
Superman can’t fight Kryptonite on his own. He needs someone to help him escape its power. When it comes to unbelief, so do I. And that helper is the Holy Spirit. Through the word of God, often mediated through another believer, the Holy Spirit seeks to focus my faith on Jesus’s truth and away from Satan’s lies. When this happens faith ignites and unbelief evaporates.
Since unbelief is so dangerous to us, when we suffer its effects, we must take urgent steps to receive the Spirit’s help. In a recent battle with unbelief, the Spirit used the four following means to help me. Perhaps they will help you.
1. I looked to the source of my power.
Peter’s walk on water is frequently helpful to me (Matt 14.28–31″>Matthew 14:28–31). As long as his faith was focused on Jesus, he was able to do the humanly impossible. When his focus shifted to the wind and waves, he sank. When I find myself sinking, it’s always evidence of unbelief.
So I asked a friend, in this case my wife, to help me get my eyes on Jesus. I did this right away. And the Spirit helped my unbelief (Mark 9:24) through promises my wife helped me remember.
2. I soaked in the promises that addressed my unbelief.
I laid aside distractions, repented of my unbelief, and bathed in those particular promises until their comforting power took effect in my soul.
3. I continued “steadfastly in prayer” (Colossians 4:2).
I turned the promises into requests and didn’t stop praying them. Jesus says that when we abide in him and his word abides in us, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us (John 15:7).
God will answer. But since he usually is doing more in us and through us than we are aware of, we must trust him. Remain steadfast in prayer until the answer comes.
4. I remembered that my weaknesses show Christ’s strength.
This particular battle with unbelief involved weaknesses I wish I didn’t have and tempt me to feel worthless (I’m not talking about sins, though I have plenty of those, too). But the Spirit helped me remember that my weaknesses are where Jesus loves to show his strength (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
You have other ways that you’ve found helpful in the fight for faith, and I hope you share them with those around you.
Ferocious battles with demonic unbelief are part of the normal Christian life. This is war. If the fighting doesn’t get fierce, we are likely not engaged or doing anything threatening to Satan. But if Satan is fighting us with the Kryptonite of unbelief, he perceives a threat. When you feel yourself wilting, take heart. Through the promises of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus will help you overcome your enemy’s most lethal weapon (John 16:33).
