The Power Of Unbelief
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
William Ernest Henley was a late 19th century British poet and editor who introduced the world to the famous authors Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, and William Butler Yeats. A quick review of his life on Wikipedia reveals an interesting little factoid. He had one leg and was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s character Long John Silver in his book Treasure Island. As you can see, Henley was acquainted with some of the literary giants of Victorian England.
Henley was a sick man inflicted with crippling tuberculosis of the bone. Though disadvantaged in many ways, he lived an active productive life writing many books of poetry. We might well imagine that despite his handicaps his uncommon willpower must have been the impetus that drove him to success. It seems likely that Henley’s most famous poem Invictus was a product of his determined self-reliance. Henley wrote:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
This poem was the product of a godless man who was blinded by the power of unbelief. In many pulpits this morning, preachers will speak of the power of faith. They will take examples from the scriptures such as the heroes in Hebrews 11 and they will tell their congregations how faith can move mountains, faith can part seas, faith can destroy enemy fortresses, faith makes the impossible happen. Not too many will speak of how powerful determined unbelief can be.
William Ernest Henley had his own version of faith. His faith was in himself which caused him to express what he thought was his ability to control his life and steer his soul to its own purposeful end. The character of Henley’s faith was of course quite different from the faith we preach from this pulpit. And yet, Henley was right. His faith piloted his soul as surely as does ours. He was the captain of his soul who charted his ship to its inevitable destination. Our faith is powerful enough to change our destination, while Henley was driven by the power of unbelief which was steadfastly resistant to a change in destination.
Henley bragged about his unbending will as if he was an uncommon specimen who was far above average. His fame, fortune, and social circles were not determinative. The truth is he was no different than every baby born in this world. He was natural not supernatural. He lived no differently than any person who is unaffected by the Holy Spirit. He was born to his destination while we are born again to ours. In other words, he charted a course that needed no steering. He was in a rut, a track impossible to pull out of much less one needing an unbending will to remain in.
This, friends, is the power of unbelief. In its own realm, it is as powerful as our faith is in ours. Faith in Christ is a course that leads to one place and one place only. Neither do you have power to change it for as Peter says we are kept by the power of God through faith. You will not change the natural course of your life. It is impossible. Stay the course and join Henley as the master of your fate or pray that God will be merciful to your foolishness. May he grant you the power to say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
Pastor V. Mark Smith