When tormenting issues continue to plague some Christians, God always has a timely remedy. While working at my desktop computer at 7:50 a.m. on February 16, 2023, I heard in my spirit, “God is calling us to an unusual fast to erase doubt and unbelief.”
Fasting is not foreign to most believers in Jesus Christ as it’s been a spiritual custom for millennia. One can do this on an individual basis, church-wide, or when requested to do so by a national Christian or worldwide movement for a worthy endeavor.
Typical fasts include food, entertainment, shopping, sports, travel, watching tv, talking on the phone for hours, social media, etc. The basic idea is to give up something in order to press into God, spend time with Him, listen to what He speaks to us, and obey His specific directives.
A Series of Rhetorical Questions.
I’ve spent the past few days meditating upon and praying about what I heard from the Lord on the morning of February 16, 2023. During this time, and as I worked my way through my busy days, Holy Spirit downloaded a series of rhetorical questions to me.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, [Holy Spirit] has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13)
It might not have been the most convenient time to receive what I was hearing, but I knew that I must hit the pause button, so to speak, and go into my office to type what Holy Spirit was speaking.
- The root cause of doubt and unbelief is fear.
- Doubt and unbelief are manifestations of the demonic spirit of fear. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) [Emphases mine].
- If we fully love God and one another, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
- The spiritual progression is the person opens himself or herself to the spirit of fear; fear invites doubt; and doubt opens the door to unbelief.
- Doubt and unbelief will keep us in spiritual bondage if we allow them to do so.
- The nation of Israel in the Old Testament doubted God and did not believe Him in all that He told them through His prophets and leaders. Consider how long this practice kept them in bondage!
“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:16-19)
- Doubt and unbelief are not our spiritual weapons of warfare. If we keep fueling them, they empower the enemy of our souls.
The Answer Lies Within The Wording Itself.
The reason this particular fast might seem unusual is the answer lies within the wording itself.
To get rid of doubt and unbelief, those are the very things that we must fast and permanently erase from our lives.
Prophetic Insights For Daily Living.
#1. What is causing your doubt and unbelief?
Make a specific, numbered list of the things, situations, circumstances, people, etc. that are contributing to this issue.
Then, as a spiritual act, lay these at the cross of Jesus Christ, quit wrestling with them, fully surrender everything to God, leave it with Him, and trust Him for the outcome.
Continuing to look at any of our challenging circumstances only clouds our spiritual vision which in turn diminishes our faith.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
We cannot judge a situation or evaluate exactly how and when God is moving by looking at things in the natural. He’s moving and orchestrating things for good on our behalf even when we don’t think that He is.
#2. Doubt and unbelief can overtake us like a thief.
Are you allowing these double thieves to steal from you, and what exactly are they stealing?
#3. Have you made doubt and unbelief little gods in your life?
The way you can tell this for sure is if they are still sitting on the throne of your heart where Jesus needs to reside and be given proper place and authority.
We must ask ourselves if we’re bowing down and worshipping doubt and unbelief or Jehovah God of the Bible in Whose hope we trust.
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) and does not want anything or anyone above Him as it should be in our lives.
#4. Seek the Lord for His spiritual and physical battle plan(s) if He leads in this manner.
When studying the major battles in the Bible, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for each one. God, in His infinite wisdom, designed it this way, so humans dare not try to place Him inside a box thinking that He will work the same way twice.
We also see this as we read through the gospels in the New Testament and observe the life, teachings, and miracles of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
#5. Check your spiritual diet daily to see if you are consuming any poisonous food such as doubt, unbelief, discouragement, negativity, self-pity, lies, disillusionment, hatred, strife, and so forth.
Plan to replace the aforementioned with healthy spiritual food such as belief, faith, encouragement, positivity, truth, love, joy, and peace. Each of the negative types of food has a powerful and direct opposite which our spirits crave.
#6. If you’re not facing any overwhelming challenges right now or have not fallen prey to doubt and unbelief, pray and ask the Lord if there is someone else you are supposed to be helping.
Seek other like-minded, trustworthy brothers and sisters in Christ to agree with you in prayer to help someone else overcome their doubt and unbelief.
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
Whoever is agreeing and standing with you in prayer must not operate in doubt or unbelief either.
“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3)
The Absolute Power Of Faith and Belief.
I’m unsure if during our lifetime we could ever count the number of sermons that have been preached on the absolute power of faith and belief, the antidotes to doubt and unbelief, or read all of the books written about these subjects.
I would like to bless you with an encouraging message from last August 17, 2022, surrounded by a field of glorious, blooming daisies.
https://sheilaeismann.com/living-in-a-field-of-faith/
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
“That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:5)
Take courage and have faith in God that divine strength will be given to you as you purposefully choose to fast and totally shed doubt and unbelief, so it does not continue to stick to you like an unwanted skin disease.
I will freely admit that these types of prophetic messages such as this one are far from my favorite types to write; however, I must obey what I hear the Spirit of the Lord speaking and downloading to me.
My prayer is that you will receive this message by faith and Holy Spirit will teach, lead, guide, direct, and comfort you in the days ahead.
God desires for all of us to fully trust Him with everything in our lives and rest in His mercy, peace, and abundant love.
Until the next message,
SFE (Sheila, Fellow Encourager)
Sheila F. Eismann, Prophetic Seer, Blogger, & Author, publishes her blog posts endeavoring to encourage others through God’s word. Her writings include instructions on how to apply prophetic insights for daily living.
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Image via DSP.