Days of Doubt
Updated: Sep 4, 2020
I have to confess that sometimes I let doubt get in my way. There are days in my life when good old doubting Thomas has got nothing on me. My doubts breed like rabbits in my mind. I hear words in my head telling me “you are no writer, who would care what you think?” “You can’t sing, two cats fighting sound better than you.” “You are a helpless invalid, you can’t do anything” When these thoughts get the better of me it’s hard to find the strength to fight them back. Are you like me? Do you have days when the voice in your head just won’t shut up!
I know better than to listen to this naysayer, but I just keep pushing the replay button, anyway. God knows that we will have days of worry and doubt, and He has a ton to say about it. Don’t believe me? Just look it up on the internet, with just a casual look I found 72 Bible verses that deal with doubt. From the very first time in Genesis 3:4 when Satan used doubt to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit; to the Epistle of Jude 1:22 where he reminds us to be merciful to those who doubt. God wants to help us with those days of doubt, he knows that.
Doubt will increase your worry.
Doubt will steal your joy.
Doubt will make you give up.
Guess who else knows. Why Satan, that’s who, and he uses his words to turn people away from God. My good friend Thomas heard the devil in his ear, “Jesus could not come back from the dead, they must be delusional, don’t believe them.” Thomas listened to those words of doubt until they convinced him all the disciples had been duped and now to make matters worse, now their lives were at risk. He had worry, he had lost his joy, and he was ready to give up. But then Jesus shows up and spoke the words of truth to Thomas in John 20:27, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into my side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Jesus reminded him to stop his doubting and turn it into Believing.
What are we to believe in? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not about believing in our abilities, but it is about believing in the power of the one who died for us. Alone we will always have doubts; but when we listen to what the word of God tells us, we can turn off the voice of the deceiver. It doesn’t matter what your doubting today. God wants you to go to Him for His help when you feel your mind becoming clouded by disbelief. James 1:6 tells us, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. The one who doubts rocks like the waves on the sea in a storm. I don’t know about you, but these past few weeks have been pretty rocky. Not only do I have to contend with my usual personal doubts; I have been feeling my world change day by day. With fears of food shortages, (especially toilet paper) school closings and social distancing. It leaves me doubting things will ever get back to normal. Every day I watch the news and it’s full of doom and gloom, but here is the good news. God is in control and no amount of doubts, or how crazy things get, will keep Him from filling His will for our lives. Paul gave this promise in Romans 3:3-4 “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? Not at all!” Paul reminds us that the answer is “Not at all!”
Our doubts can’t stop God. But our doubts DO stop us from believing, and they DO leave us open to the deceiver’s plans. The Devil wants us to worry and distrust ourselves, and our situations. The doubts about my writing skills, singing voice and physical abilities left unchecked can cheat me from the pleasure I receive singing at worship, and writing this blog and dreaming of publishing books. I may have been born with a birth defect, but that does not make me helpless. Only my attitude about my condition can make me less able. Our fears and doubts about the coronavirus outbreak can either leave us crying and hiding in the corner of our homes, or we can face each day knowing that our loving God is faithful despite our doubts. We need to do just what Jesus told good old Thomas “do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Let’s start now believing not doubting.