What is tripping you over?

“… get rid of the sin that trips us up,” Hebrews‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭(CEB‬)

We are looking at hindrances that impede us on our walk to destiny or the race we are all set to run. The Bible passage above is where we glean our lessons from. The first encumberance dealt with was weights. Let us look at today’s which is unbelief
What is unbelief? It is the state of not believing or being a skeptic. A skeptic is one who maintains a doubting attitude or is just plain negative. The bible verse in Hebrews 12:1 was addressing the Jewish believers to run the race of faith and complete at the finishing line. Running a race is difficult and calls for endurance and grit oft times. You don’t sprint through a race out of sheer talent but an amount of “doggedness” is involved. This Christian walk of faith is likened to a race. The writer of the book of Hebrews used the term of athletics to drive his point home in finishing what God has tasked in our hands. In the context of faith in Hebrews 12, ‘the sin’ that competes or trips us up is unbelief. The Greek rendering of the latter part of Hebrews 12:1 reads like this, “get rid of the thwarting racer  in your every direction as a competitor”. The number one competitor that stands in the way of faith is unbelief

As you read this, what has God tasked in your hands? It could be that course, that business or showing goodwill to a neighbor or an enemy (yikes). Let us have a progress report of how we are doing. Please take some time to have a critical analysis of your performance NOT to condemn but encourage yourself that no matter where you are with your task, you can do better. It is said a staggering 92% of people don’t achieve their goals or finish. My heartfelt prayer for you is that you will break that mould

Unbelief or being a hardcore skeptic is a trip. You can’t do anything substantial or effective with that attitude. Everyone was born a skeptic, believe it or not! Unbelief is a natural attitude. It is hereditary that is passed down from one generation to the next. There are many factors that contribute to being a pessimist. I have seen people who boast about being an “eternal pessimist”. Maybe, you are one of them reading the article. Let me encourage you with a verse in the Bible which quotes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. See yourself as an overcomer or an “eternal optimist” from today. Faith arises from what you say with your mouth and believe with your heart. Be determined that skepticism will play no part in your life. It is an uphill task going against the tide or fighting anything natural but with God on our side, we are more than conquerors

Unbelief makes you negative; you look at everything from a point of impossibility with a defeatist mentality and attitude. This attitude is a killer that is robbing many of their destinies. A story in the Bible found in Deuteronomy 1:21 where God instructed the Israelites to “go and possess the land”. Pretty, straight forward, right? What discouraged them? In verse 28 of the same book reads, “…our brethren discouraged our hearts saying…” . When you see a discouraged person, it is because he is struggling with unbelief. One common trait found in the remaining 8% of achievers is they have hope- they are self encouragers who don’t easily give up

Unbelief happens when you are hanging around with the wrong company and listening to what they are saying. You could go as far as you can with hope and the help of God if you refuse to pay no mind to the comments of the day. If the comments are that bad, then please change your circle of friends you hang around with. The Israelites were discouraged because of their brethren. A famous religious minister started writing articles for The Washington Post. He had great feedback from the editorial team who encouraged him to write the more. It went great till he started scrolling under the article to read the comments section. He was so discouraged and shocked at the vitriol of some “haters” that he ceased writing for the newspapers. He bemoaned the fact in his narration that he blew the opportunity to reach a wider audience beyond the church walls because of discouragement which stemmed from unbelief

Finish that course, open that business, pick up that project that has gathered dust because of inactivity, lose that weight, marry that person who is right for you, respond to that calling of God over your life, break new grounds, be daring… Free yourself off every entanglement and fly high as a kite. You have no ceiling to what you can do! You are your own ceiling. It is imaginary (all in your head). Step out of that comfort zone where it feels okay to be skeptical. Allow me through this medium to stir up that nest of skepticism where you rest that you will have no other option than to fly and be a eagle

In our next post, we will look at the remedy to weights and unbelief

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love