Are your feet planted in a firm place, are you as secure in the spiritual spot that you are in right now as you are in the assurance of your salvation? Doubt was one of the beginnings of the downfall of man, and doubt is what keeps many believers from fulfilling, as it were, the full potential of all that our Lord has in store for them. Doubt within itself is abhorrent enough, but when Lucifer began his thoughts of doubt, doubt of whether or not God was worthy to sit upon His throne, it created pride.
Many times when we doubt the ability of others, we tend to see within our self the possibility that we could do better, and it matters little if the object of that doubt is another human, or God Himself. Satan took this offensive position in the garden when he said to Eve “Hath not God said.” (Gen. 3:1) This was a sinful act in itself, for it questioned whether or not the commandment given to our first parents was righteous and just, he was not simply asking a question of her to make sure that she had heard God correctly, he was attempting to place within her doubt as to the authority of their Creator to keep this one thing from them. Though sinful and reprehensible, his words were chosen perfectly and brilliantly, for they cut directly to the most impressionable part within us, doubt. We must remember that Eve, as we must presuppose of Satan before his own fall, did not know the meaning of the words good and evil, they were concepts that were foreign to her. Doubt is the pathway to lies, and in Gen. 3:3-5 the lie was simply, you won’t die, an interesting statement in itself, for it infers that Adam and Eve knew the meaning of death, and if you think about it, where was our adversary when God spoke the words about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, hiding behind a tree?
Doubt allows lies to be birthed, or at least to find a seed, it is the ground that we are to be firmly planted upon that is to inhibit the growth of these doubts. Doubt is perhaps the most effective tool of our adversary, for one, because it makes us question, it begins within us a debate, and that battle must be fought within us with the Truth. The fiery arrows of our adversary are most potent when they are dipped in doubt, it worked with our parents, and it continues to work in every one of us. I have no confidence in myself when I am led by the Spirit of God to write these letters to you, if left on my own, I couldn’t even make up a proper grocery list, and if I did it would more than likely be forgotten on the counter at home. I write with a confidence that is within me, placed there by the Holy Spirit, and I pen what I am told, not doubting His leading, but trusting that what is written is glorifying to the name of God, edifying to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and convicting as He leads those who read. If you do not trust, you will doubt, it is as simple as that.
Why do you think one of the reasons we are commanded to die to self (Gal. 2:20) is in so many places is the Scriptures, because we doubt, and it is quite clear that you don’t need a sinful nature to doubt, ask Eve. She saw that the fruit was pleasant to look at, that it was good for food, she knew that it was going to make her wise, and so Satan turned the Truth of God’s words into a lie by creating doubt. She had to decide in her mind, who should I trust, God or the serpent, they both sound like they are telling the truth, which one should I believe? How long do you suppose this debate went on within her, doubt creates lies, and doubt for her, and for us, forces us to decide, is God telling the truth, or is He lying? “How do you know there’s really a Heaven, or a hell for that matter?” “How do you know for a fact that all those words in the Bible are the inerrant words of God, in fact, how do you even know there is a God, or this so-called Son of His, this Jesus of Nazareth, prove it to me.” Doubt my friends, doubt is the greatest and most finely honed tool in Satan’s arsenal, you can’t answer even those three simple questions to any one that asks them of you, you have no concrete evidence whatsoever, all you have is faith, and you can’t even prove that to the lost. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)
But try showing it to anyone, so you suffer well, so what, so do a lot of other people that have never even opened a Bible, so you know a lot of Scripture verses, there are countless theologians who can quote from the beliefs of dozens of different religions, so you trust in Christ with a fervent zeal, so do all those who seek other gods, and their faith in them is just as strong as yours is in Christ. Did you want to show your faith by your works, (James 2:18) go right ahead, they will point to the thousands of men who have come before you, good men who accomplished great deeds for the betterment of humanity in areas that are without number. Doubt is easy, it is simple, a few choice words here and there and anyone can be made to doubt, to mistrust, to question. How well are your feet planted now, could you tell a lost soul exactly why you are not doubting, and never will, the Lord your God?
Your words would mean nothing to them, oh, perhaps an uplifting testimony of who you were before Christ might move them a little, maybe they would wipe a tear from their eye and feel wonderful inside for a while, but it is not going to be anything more than that, your words. Maybe you could show them by example, feed some poor people, visit the sick, do all you can to never offend anyone, you know, just like that lost soul down the street does, the one who thinks that there’s an enormous set of scales in Heaven just waiting to judge his good works against his bad ones. There is only one weapon that defeats doubt, and you can use it on the lost and yourself, the Truths of the Words of God. Why do you think that you are to “Rightly divide them,” so that “You can give an account” of course, of what? Why, your faith, you know, that thing that keeps doubt at bay.
We cover ourselves in lies my friend, lies we teach ourselves to believe because we doubt the Truth. The Truths of God’s Word are called promises, faithfully given promises to all those that call His Son Lord, so then why do you still doubt some of them, and don’t answer that it is part of your sinful nature, that is an excuse that far too many who like to call themselves Christians tend to use, and we have already determined in Eve’s actions that you do not need a sinful nature for doubt to create the belief of a lie. We doubt because we do not truly believe, and we do not truly believe because we do not trust. “You are saved by grace thru faith,” (Eph. 2:8) “Your faith has healed you,” (Mark 5:34) “even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” (Gal.3:6) “if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed.” (Matt. 17:20) How many verses do you need, because there’s a whole lot more.
Creating doubt is easy, instilling uncompromising trust is not so easy, for some reason it needs to be proven over and over again, in just about every imaginable circumstance. Part the Red Sea, now give me some manna, I need some water now, heal my daughter, feed us again today, raise that guy from the dead, just a few hundred more and then maybe my feet will be firmly planted. “When the Son of man returns, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Not very much I am afraid, but I hope I am wrong. I have no answers here for you my friends, I don’t know you personally, nor would I presume to know your heart, I know only that you occasionally doubt, all who serve Christ do, but I also know this, even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful. Doubt will come, trust, obedience and abiding faith in He who is faithful is the only thing that will dispel it, but it’s a good idea to ask for forgiveness in these times of doubt. “Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)