help me overcome my unbelief

in his sermon on Sunday, our pastor spoke about God's best for us, how we can miss out on it, and how that's a dangerous place to be. He's going through the book of Hebrews, verse by verse, and this week we were in chapter 4. here's how it starts:

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, 

let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; 

but the message they heard was of no value to them, 

because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

"His rest" is the promised land: God's best for us, His specific, blow-us-away plan for our lives... the Israelites didn't combine the message with faith, so they missed out. of the millions that were brought out of slavery in Egypt, only two entered the promised land. the rest of them died in the wilderness. died in their unbelief.

it's just the same, this side of the cross. God brings us out of Egypt [our initial salvation] and then we enter the vast wilderness. we can get lost, or we can stay a steady course, toward the land He has promised to those who believe. i'm not talking heaven, i'm talking abundant life here on earth. purposeful and meaningful, more-than-you've-ever-imagined life.

you know what the wilderness is like. you know how easy it is to get lost, either in sin or in distraction. we can wander around, completely ignorant or completely complacent, or deliberately avoiding the promised land. we get busy, whether intentionally or not, with the nonsense of this world and we put "His best" on the back-burner. if only we were given another lifetime in which we weren't so busy and so needed elsewhere, right?

is He calling you to do something specific? to start a non-profit? a ministry at your church? to teach? to write? to head out onto the mission field, either short or long term? maybe it's simply walking next door to talk to a neighbor? what is it that He has prepared? if you pray long enough and sincerely enough, He will reveal it to you... it's what you do with it once it's been revealed that matters. do you believe He can do abundantly and exceedingly more than we ask or think? do you believe that your life was set apart before the foundations of the earth to accomplish this specific task? i don't want to miss out on the promised land. i hope you don't either.

it's pretty amazing [and completely not a coincidence] that as soon as i came home from this convicting sermon, i read leslie's post. [make sure you read it] she makes it sounds so alluring, so mysterious, so beautiful and wonderful all at the same time. God "telling us His secrets". God giving us the specific-to-us directions to the promised land. she has a way with words.

at this very moment, i have the treasure map in my hands, and i am unable [or unwilling] to take the first step forward. right now, i'll be totally honest with you, my unbelief has me at a full stand-still, paralyzed, bound. i wish it weren't so, because i want to have that faith that gives birth to unbridled obedience. but i'm too practical, too scared, too... filled with unbelief, apparently. at the same time, i do believe it. i see the work being accomplished in my mind. i want nothing more than to answer "yes", and i know He is more than sufficient, fully able to provide every need that will arise, and He's calling me to get started... but for some reason i won't act. will you pray for me? that He would help me overcome my unbelief.

if you need a little more, you can watch the sermon [it will be available for the next six weeks or so] by clicking here and then clicking on the "Are You Experiencing God's Best" link. this direct link may also work? i hope you take the time to watch it. i really believe it could change your life. [oh, and completely unimportant, but true none-the-less, i'm the one singing just to the right of the worship leader, in the light green polka dot sweater... hi!]