Day 4 - Thursday June 16
Encourage One Another Daily

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 

And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:12-14

Without faith it is impossible to please God, for anyone who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  Hebrews 11:6

If we are going to please the Lord and truly enter into our Promised Land, as individuals and a nation, we have to declare war on the hidden areas of unbelief in our lives.  All of us have experienced desert times, hard times of testing in our lives which we cannot understand.  A close friend dies of cancer.  We lose our job.  Our daughter rebels and leaves home. These experiences can shake our confidence and trust in God and in His word and open a door for the enemy to plant seeds of doubt and mistrust inside of us.

The ultimate purpose of this strategy is to hinder us from being wholehearted in our devotion to the Lord.  If unbelief hardens even a small part of our heart, it prevents from accessing the fullness of what the Lord has for us.

Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

All of our life flows from our heart.  If a part of our heart isn’t functioning in faith, then we are prevented from seeking God with our whole hearts and we will not find Him (walk in the fullness of our relationship with God) as He intended.  So we must recognize this scheme of the enemy and as Proverbs said, above all guard our hearts. 

And we must be ruthless to uproot unbelief anywhere that it has taken root.  How do we do this?  By gaining a greater revelation of God and especially of His love and His faithfulness that makes Him so worthy of our trust.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.  Psalm 145:13

All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. Psalm 25:10

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. Psalm 33:4-5

When we allow the truth that God loves us, that His ways are always just, that His thoughts toward us are always good, that He will never leave us or forsake us, then we can trust Him fully with every area of our lives and hearts.  Then we can enter into the rest God has promised us. 

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Heb 4:8-10
Let us commit this day to break the power of unbelief that is hindering our hearts and renew our trust in the One who loved us and gave Himself for us!

Prayer Focus and Practical Actions

1)       Ask God to search your heart and to reveal to you any areas where unbelief may have crept in unawares.  Repent for allowing the sin of unbelief into your heart (Romans 14:23) and ask God to cleanse you and make your heart new again. (Psalm 51).  Declare over every situation that God brings to mind that His ways are just and true – declare your faith that, even if you don’t understand everything, still you choose to trust.   

2)       Psalm 77:11-12 gives us a powerful strategy against unbelief – “I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works, and consider all your mighty deeds.”  Take the time today to talk with someone (spouse or children or friends) and recount to them at least one story of God’s faithfulness in your life. This is how we can encourage one another, daily, so that unbelief will not take root in our hearts