Dealing With Doubt

I really didn't think I could write this month which is why we're so late. I was waiting to write the victory letter but circumstances only worsened. Easter and Passover have always been times of great hope and expectation and with all the special prayer God has raised up it was hard to go through another "hope deferred" season without being sick at heart. I need to be honest with you we did not do very well.

Yesterday I was going through piles of papers on my night stand and came across a page of notes I'd taken a few months ago when the Holy Spirit was teaching me about doubt. I was amazed as I saw how the symptoms of doubt described my present condition exactly. But because I had not recognized the real enemy, I was basically defenseless. As the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, they were told to "banish fear and doubt". A while back I wrote a letter on fear and its tactics and now I'm going to share about doubt. It is so important at this hour that we understand these things so we can face our real enemies and go forward to repossess our inheritance in Christ Jesus. Holy Spirit, guide me now as I write and give Your people ears to hear what You are about to say.

Since our wills can be controlled by either our soul or our spirit, it is important that we allow God's Word to divide what is of the soul and what is of the Spirit. (Heb. 4:12) The soul is basically made up of our intellect and emotions. Fear arises in the emotions while doubt is of the intellect. It has been proven that fear, anger and other emotional disorders directly affect the body. In much the same way doubt, vanity and many other intellectual disorders affect our spirit. Doubt is even more subtle than fear because fear can be felt and its manifestations are obvious. Doubt is more insidious because, while fear can devastate the physical life, doubt slowly erodes the spiritual life. Fear and worry cannot separate us from the love and purposes of God (Rom. 8:38) but doubt can. James 1:6,7 tells us the man who doubts can receive nothing from the Lord. Therefore, let's look very closely at this enemy.

Tactics doubt comes in when we focus on circumstances, self ability and worldly knowledge. It seeks to convince us God is not good and His Word is not true, thus making it to be of no effect in our lives.

Symptoms loss of hope; spiritual sluggishness and depression; loss of joy of our salvation; morbid introspection which may involve self hate and unresolved guilt. Doubt thrives on our self life which is always at work to stay on the throne, even in inverted or perverted ways such as self abasement which we may confuse with humility.

Results 1) erodes the foundation on which we are to build in Christ Jesus.

2) causes God's Hand to be held back. Unbelief is the major sin recorded that kept God from acting. Example: Jesus could do no great miracle because of unbelief. (Matt. 13:58)

3) keeps us from receiving our inheritance in Christ Jesus. Example: the Israelites could not enter His rest because of their unbelief. (Heb. 3:12 19)

4) causes the call on our life to wither and die. Example: God warned Jeremiah in Jer. 15:19 that if he continued to doubt God's faithfulness he could no longer be God's mouthpiece.

So from this, we see how utterly devastating it is to"play" with doubt. Disappointment and even anger towards God result when we do not bring every thought captive to Jesus. The enemy rushes in to reinforce all wrong thinking and lead us into darkness and despair. Our whole picture of His nature becomes distorted if we do not recognize and stop this process. Jesus promised He would not break the bruised reed or quench the dimly burning flame. (Is. 42:3) Yet we find ourselves broken and quenched and blaming God for it. How this must grieve the Holy Spirit.

When the disciples could not drive out a demon Jesus called them a perverse and unbelieving generation (Mark 9:19) even though they had done many miracles in His Name. Jesus was angry at their unbelief. We write this out of our own repentance and desire to stand firm in faith. God exhorts us to examine ourselves to see if we remain in the faith. (2 Cor. 13:5) This is not to be unhealthy introspection of our faults but simply to see if we be in the faith. Have you been plagued by doubts? You can remedy it right now. If you know you are living in doubt you must:

1. Face it The demon possessed boy's father in Mark 9:22 24 asked Jesus "if you can". Jesus, seeing his doubt replied, "If I can? All things are possible to him who believes".

2. Repent this simply means turn away from it. The boy's father cried, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief".

3. Stop looking at self and its failures. "Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." (Heb 12:2) And what are the things that distract? Heb 12:1 says they are "every encumbrance, unnecessary weight and the sin which cleverly entangles us." I always thought we put these off by our effort but the key thing these verses tell us is we put them off by looking away from them unto Jesus. For the victory is in Him alone.

4. Stir up the gift of God that is in you. (2 Tim. 1:6) Has God given you promises and placed a deposit in you? No matter how it looks stir that up not the misery of your present condition.

5. If all this seems overwhelming, start at square one just like you did when you got saved. Recognize your need for a Savior. Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior from doubt. He will enable you to take the other steps.

In closing, let me encourage you to study Psalm 119. The Psalmist had been afflicted, chastened for sin; he had embraced God's Word and repented but God's promised deliverance had not come. He cried again and again to the Lord his hope often failing as he reminded God of all he'd done as well as all God had promised to do. The end of the psalm always shocked me for he declares himself lost and astray and implores the Lord to seek, inquire for and demand his life. I finally understand that last verse doubt had slowly eroded his spirit and in essence, he needed a salvation experience again. Yes we can get lost in the way no matter how long we've walked with Him. Thank God for the great ongoing salvation He has promised and that He will never stop seeking that which is lost. Whatever you are facing and no matter how you may have failed, take courage and draw strength from the Lord's unfailing love today. We love and appreciate you very much.