There is a passage in Hebrews chapter 3 that speaks about not hardening our hearts - not sinning - else we may not enter into God's rest. And this is one of those passages that gets used by people now and then to point at specific sins in other people - usually sins they believe they are not guilty of themselves. But does this point to something of that nature, or perhaps does it point at something else.
The Hebrews 3 passage speaks about those - Israel - whom Moses was leading through the wilderness after leaving Egypt, a story told in Exodus. This is the example we are given so that we may understand what this sin is, so it is to this place we must go.
Now then, if I were to ask what was the dreadful sin which plagued Israel and, eventually, led to them not being able to enter into the promised land/God's rest, what would you think of? No small number would think of the story of the golden calf and the subsequent orgy (that is how it was done) of worship to this thing. But that is just one event and God did not wipe them all out after this happened, so it really could not be what He is refering to.
If we read through these events in Exodus, we will see something happening repeatedly. One thing we see is that the Israelites seem to complain a fair bit about, well, most everything that comes across their path really. I put it to you that this is an outward symptom of the sin in question. Think about it, over and over God did amazing things to provide and care for them - everything from parting a sea to lead them away from those who wished them harm to water from a rock and food, literally, from out of nowhere provided daily. And yet, yet they complained about everything. Why did they do that? While we could try and analyze possible answers, the most obvious answer is that they did not, in fact, actually trust God. No matter how many times He proved He could be trusted, they still refused to trust Him. Even when they got to the "promised land" they refused to trust Him and, subsequently, got to wander the wilds for a generation.
Let us fast forward to the Gospels. More than once, Jesus Himself said for us to not worry. That God knows what we need and what we want long before we even know we do and He is not hard or cruel, so He does not with hold these things from us. So we do not need to worry - we can trust Him.
Now we come full circle to the book of Hebrews and our passage from chapter 3 and verse 19: "So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief". What was their unbelief? What was this sin? Simply put, they did not trust God.
Of the two commands Jesus tells us we are to follow, loving God is number one - trust and love go together with each other. If we say we love God, then we must trust Him. Even when we are in the wilderness and we cannot fathom how things will work out or how what we need will come, we are to trust Him and He will take care of everything. He knows our limitations after all.
If you are a believer, how much rest do you have in your heart, mind and soul during those times which you refuse to trust God to take care of <whatever>? When you strive and try and scheme to make it work on your own, apart from God? From my own experience, I know the answer to be "not much", not much at all.
He can be trusted, not just because He says He can either. God will prove - over and over - that you can actually, completely and totally, count on Him. Do not base your trust of Him upon your own experiences trusting another person. He is not human, after all - He is God.
*Edit/Addon*
God is not stupid. Things which He says to either do or not to do, He does not do so to try and "make you work for it" or "take away from your fun". He knows what the consequences of our choices - for everyone concerned - can and will be. Trusting Him is no exception to this. He knows how insane we drive ourselves if we do not. He knows about the sleepless nights, the hours spent in therapy sessions, the words said unintentionally in arguments which can never be taken back fully or the addictions which pop up as we try to cope on our own. He knows the ground the enemy gains when he can get us to question and that he (satan) has the absolute worst in mind for us. Taking God at His word with regards to who He says He is, whom He says we are and about the relationship between us - that is, trusting Him - brings a great peace to our hearts, minds and souls in all situations and circumstances, for we know Who is in control and He is most certainly trustworthy. He also knows we do not trust Him near as often as we should and no, He is not about to heave a lightning bolt at us for it - He is far more patient than we are.
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