WHAT IS WRONG WITH DOUBT? Doubt is not the same as unbelief. Unbelief is an outright disdain and rejection of a particular position or premise. Doubt on the other hand is aware of the position, has probably seen it demonstrated or even personally experienced it, yet goes ahead to elevate another opinion or option above it. Doubt gets a believer in trouble with God more than unbelief does for the atheist. Doubt is not a possibility until an alternative position is offered. Doubt works from the known to the attractive unknown. A new possibility is what makes you question your present reality which you know so well. Doubt happens when a different premise or fact is presented to challenge what you thought you had always known. Doubt itself is not evil. It is what you are doubting that determines that. Progress has been made because people have questioned paradigms. If no one had doubted the scientists of the Middle Ages, we would not have known that the earth was not flat. Christopher Columbus shattered that myth. If no one had questioned the law of gravity, we would not have had flying vehicles. Questioning of boundaries by Archimedes gave us the Law of Floatations by which huge ships sail without sinking. Sometimes, what we believe can actually be an albatross, especially if it is steeped in the opinions of men which are expressed within the limits of their understanding and revelation or outright mischief couched in altruism. The conversation between Eve and the serpent in Genesis 3 gives us another perspective to this. Ditto the temptation of Christ in Matthew 4. In contention here was not the word of a man or the opinion of Eve. It was the express command of God. Doubt becomes a tool of evil when what is being doubted is the known will of God. The Bible tells us that we walk by faith and not by sight. How does our faith come? Faith comes by hearing the word. Gods word is given to the believer to help him define his reality. This is designed to give him a superior reality that places him in the realm of the supernatural rather than the mundane. This is the platform of faith and this is precisely what the enemy comes to knock off. As long as the believer stands resolute in the conviction that Gods word is the final on any matter, he is on safe grounds and anything is possible. See Hebrews 11. Peter walked on water as long as he stood on the word Come from Jesus. The storm did not matter any more. But in a fleeting moment of doubt at what could happen if the water could not hold him, he took his eyes of Jesus and the word and pronto, he began to sink. What he did not know at that ime is that it was not the sea that he was walking on but the WORD that was spoken. To the man who knows what God says and does it, he has also signed up for a form of unbelief albeit positive. This may sound strange but the exercise of faith is simply foreclosing any other possibility even where they exist. Faith is therefore a choice that makes its proponent a prisoner of hope in the resolute discountenancing of any other option. What brings doubt? 1. An alternative opinion 2. Conflict between reality and expectations - delayed expectations. 3. Inability to internalize spiritual realities 4. An identity crisis that questions your entitlement and position. 5. A lack of trust in the Source of instruction or premise of belief Note that doubt itself is not the problem. It is the exercise of your power of choice that matters. Doubt is merely the result of the introduction of an option that positions you between your present convictions and other possibilities which usually appear better and more convenient although not necessarily more expedient. The question at that point is simple. Whose report shall you believe? Abraham knew the reality of his dead body but chose to disbelieve it because he had heard God! Was he tempted with doubt? Yes. And so are we all. But when Gods revealed word becomes final authority in ALL our ways, we can always choose to disbelieve other options. When he says weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning, you learn to go through the night with eyes focused on the morning and the attendant joy! If you can keep your eyes on the Person who promised and the promise He made, you will overcome the problems you face! Take that to the bank! Good morning!
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 11:10:59 +0000
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