Romans 10:17 clearly illustrates the process of developing faith: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Our faith in God is not the product of dreams, visions or miracles, rather it is the product of reliable testimony from those who have witnessed those miracles (John 20:30-31). This is how our faith is built. However, have you ever wondered how unfaithfulness comes? Consider the following: if faith comes by hearing the truth, then of necessity unfaithfulness comes by hearing and believing falsehoods. This principle is vividly illustrated in the Bible. Adam and Eve were told lies and they believed it (Genesis 3:1-7). Instead of trusting in God and His Word they chose to believe the lies of Satan and subsequently plunged the world into sin. Remember the “man of God” of 1 Kings 13? He was given specific instructions by God for his prophetic mission to Bethel (1 Kings 13:8-10). His faithfulness hinged upon him adhering to those commandments. However, this prophet was led to disobedience by the lies of an older ungodly prophet (1Kings 13:18). As a result, he lost his life as punishment from God (1 Kings 13:20-24). The Israelites are prime examples of what falsehoods can do to our faith. They believed the lies of the ten spies and their faith in God became nonexistent (Numbers 14:1-4 & 11). We lose faith in God when we listen to or bombard ourselves with negative or false information and worldly views. Faithlessness, panic, anxiety, and worry are often the results of putting our trust in what “they” said rather than putting our trust in what God said. Maybe your faith in God is not where it needs to be because you have been listening to and believing the rhetoric of Satan. Regain your confidence in the Lord by studying His Word and in so doing fortify your faith (Acts 20:32).
