"He was amazed at their unbelief" - Mark 6:6 (New Living Translation).

These words were written about Jesus when he visited his hometown of Nazareth. He was utterly astonished at the refusal of the people there to believe in him. They were too familiar with Jesus, they said. They knew his family and had watched him grow up. So, they did NOT believe. And the result, Mark says, was that Jesus couldn't do many miracles there.

Unbelief prevents God from working in our lives. We hit a tough situation that we can't handle, or face a problem for which we have no solutions, or must deal with a difficult person out of control, or are confronted with health or financial hurdles seemingly to big to overcome. And our first reaction is often unbelief. Instead of praying and being absolutely confident that God can handle the situation, we panic or worry or fall apart or become stressed out.

It's unbelief - pure and simple. We simply do not believe Jesus can or will come through for us. The result is that God can't work in our life or situation as he wishes. Our unbelief stops him, just as it stopped Jesus from performing many miracles in Nazareth (See Mark 6:5).

So, ask yourself this: When your back is up against a wall, or you are wondering what will happen next, or stressed about how your situation will work out, or in need of healing and victory: Is your heart full of belief or unbelief in Jesus?

Your answer to that question will determine what happens next.