Faith vs Unbelief

Introduction: Faith Beyond the VisibleHello everyone — this is Martins, and I welcome you to The Osawe Ministries. By the grace of God, we begin a new teaching series titled “Faith Over Unbelief.” This first episode, Faith vs Unbelief, lays the foundation: What is faith? What is unbelief? And how does unbelief find its way into our hearts? Have you ever been sure that God was calling you to do something — yet, when you looked around, it didn’t seem possible? No money. No open doors. No visible sign. I’ve been there before. But through the Word of God, I’ve learned to believe God’s Word and His promises before my physical eyes see it. That’s what this message is all about: learning to believe even when it doesn’t make sense.   The Lesson from the Fig Tree (Mark 11:12–24)When Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves but without fruit, He said, “No one shall ever eat fruit from you again.” At that moment, nothing physically looked different. But by the next day, the tree had withered from the roots. Peter was astonished, but Jesus wasn’t — because His faith had already done the work. Faith operates from the unseen root, not the visible surface.  When you speak God’s Word in faith, something shifts in the spiritual realm immediately — even if your eyes don’t see it yet. 

What Is Faith — and What Is Unbelief? Faith means believing that God’s Word is true — regardless of what your senses tell you. It’s the confidence that God’s promise is already fulfilled even before you see the result. 

Unbelief, on the other hand, is the absence of faith. It’s when we trust our physical circumstances more than God’s promises. 

Because God is Spirit, we can’t see Him with our natural eyes. That’s why faith is essential—it’s how we connect, trust, and respond to a God we cannot see physically, yet deeply know. Jesus said in Matthew 6 that we shouldn’t worry about food, clothing, or tomorrow because our Father knows what we need. Yet worry often dominates our lives — that’s unbelief in action. How Unbelief ComesUnbelief doesn’t just appear overnight. It develops when we’re influenced more by the world than by God’s truth. Here are three major causes of unbelief: Sin – separates us from God’s presence and dulls our sensitivity to His Word.A Programmed Mind – our old way of thinking, shaped by worldly logic, must be renewed through Scripture.Dominance of Physical Reality – when we only trust what we can see, touch, or feel. Romans 12:2 reminds us:

This renewal happens as we constantly feed on the Word of God and allow the Spirit to reshape how we think. 

Feeding Your Faith DailyEvery believer is feeding their soul with something — culture, social media, or Scripture. The question is: What are you feeding your mind with? If you fill yourself with the Word, your faith strengthens. If you constantly absorb fear, negativity, or worldly thinking, unbelief grows instead. 

Faith or Unbelief — The Choice Is YoursEvery day, we have a choice: to walk by faith or to give in to unbelief. When you walk by faith, you live above fear, above sight, above logic. 

Faith connects you to God’s Kingdom — a realm you can’t see naturally, but one that is more real than what you touch. So today, choose faith. Believe before you see. Study the Bible and meditate on God’s Word. Trust Him even when your world says otherwise.   

Up NextIn the next episode of this series, we’ll explore “The Consequences of Unbelief” — how unbelief hardens the heart, blocks blessings, and distances us from God’s voice. You won’t want to miss it. ConclusionBoth faith and unbelief are the result of the input you take in — what you feed your mind determines which one grows. Romans 10:17 says:“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” When you feed yourself with the Word of God, it results in strengthened faith. When you conform yourself to the world, it results in unbelief. So, keep filling your heart with the Word of God — because what you feed will flourish. 

Stay rooted in the Word, and you’ll keep growing in faith every single day.