You ever feel like you’re standing right on the edge of everything God’s promised, but something’s keeping you from stepping in? Like the good land is right there — full of life and springs of water — but you’re stuck on dry, dusty ground instead? Yeah… I’ve been there way too many times.
Walking through Joshua and Judges lately has been kicking me in the gut a little. The Israelites didn’t miss out on fully taking the land because the Jebusites were just too tough for God. Nope. They missed it because unbelief had crept into their hearts and taken root.
Look at Joshua 15:63 — the children of Judah “could not drive out the Jebusites” living in Jerusalem. Judges 1:21 says pretty much the same thing about Benjamin. They won some battles, burned the city once, but that stronghold stayed put. The Jebusites just kept living right there among them, “unto this day.”
It wasn’t really a military fail at the bottom of it. It was a heart thing.
When Unbelief Gets in the Way
Unbelief doesn’t stop God from wanting to bless us — He’s still good, still powerful, still faithful. But it sure stops us from seeing it, grabbing hold of it, and actually living in it.
Remember the generation that walked out of Egypt? They saw miracle after miracle — plagues, parted sea, food dropping from heaven every single morning. Yet because of unbelief, they wandered around and never entered the rest God had for them (Hebrews 3:19). Even Jesus “could do no mighty work” in His own hometown because the people just wouldn’t believe (Mark 6:5-6). Their doubt shut the door.
It’s the same for us today, isn’t it?
Unbelief sneaks in and whispers stuff like:
• “God probably won’t come through this time.”
• “Those promises are for other people, not me.”
• “I’ve blown it too many times for Him to give me the full blessing.”
So we settle. We learn to live with the “Jebusites” hanging around — that anxiety that won’t quit, that old stronghold of fear, that compromise we’ve gotten comfortable with, that dry area we stopped asking God to touch.
We grab a little victory and tell ourselves it’s enough.
But then there’s Caleb’s family showing us something better. Caleb, still full of fire at 85, took his mountain. He promised his daughter Achsah to whoever had the guts to take Debir. Othniel stepped up, conquered it, and got the girl and the land. When Achsah saw the Negev was straight-up dry, she didn’t just sigh and accept it. She went to her dad and boldly asked for the upper and lower springs. And Caleb gave them — just like that.
That’s what real faith looks like. It doesn’t settle for dry dirt. It asks the Father for what makes the inheritance actually fruitful.
How Unbelief Steals from Us Right Now
It shows up in sneaky little ways:
• We quit praying with real boldness because deep down we wonder if He’s even listening.
• We feel that nudge from the Holy Spirit but hesitate because we’re scared it won’t turn out okay.
• We carry worry around like it’s normal, instead of trusting our Dad knows how to take care of us.
• We stare at the “iron chariots” in our situation — the bad report, the broken relationship, the mountain of debt — and decide they’re bigger than God’s arm.
The end result? We live in the land but never really possess the good stuff. We miss the abundant life Jesus talked about (John 10:10). We survive… but we don’t thrive.
Unbelief can be faced head-on. We fight it with the truth straight from His Word.
Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing the Word. So we fill our hearts back up with Scripture. We get honest with Him — “Lord, I believe… help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). We let each other encourage us every day so none of us gets hardened by doubt (Hebrews 3:13).
Can anyone relate? Because I sure can. There have been seasons where doubt felt louder than God’s voice. Seasons where I chose fear or control instead of trust. And every single time, it left me restless, worn out, and missing the peace that comes from just resting in Him.
But Here’s the Hope
The beautiful part? God doesn’t leave us stuck there. Even when Israel kept failing, He raised up deliverers like Othniel. Later He raised up David to finally take Jerusalem for good.
And then we take those small, scary steps of obedience — just like Othniel climbing that hill.
So tell me… what “Jebusite” stronghold is still hanging around in your life? What part feels dry because you stopped asking for the springs?
Bring it to your Father today. He’s ridiculously generous. He’s not limited by our weak faith. He loves giving good gifts to His kids.
Let’s stop making peace with unbelief and start claiming everything Christ already won for us.
I’d love to hear from you — what helps you fight unbelief in your walk? Drop it in the comments or shoot me a message. We’re all in this together, learning to be strong by faith.
Keep pressing into Jesus, friend. He’s faithful even when we’re not.
