Doubt is a natural human emotion, but even though it is natural and seems to happen more than we care to admit, is doubt a correct response? Everyone at one point or another has doubted. Doubt is NOT believing something will happen, will work out or will turn out the way you want it to. According to the dictionary it is a feeling of uncertainty or a lack of conviction.
If I were to describe my personality I would say I am a realist-optimist. I am not actually sure if this is an official personality type, but it is how I lean. I am not a glass half full or a glass half empty person, I am more like there is water in the glass and I’m thirsty so I’m thankful for the water-type person. I can refill it as needed but I know as I drink the water it will only lessen each day and it will need to be filled back up. Depending on the day the water levels are higher and lower. I do not live in a world with hope overflowing or in depths of despondance, I know that I have eternal hope in Jesus but when difficult circumstances happen I tend to hope for the best but consider the possibility of the worst. Among this realist-optimist view of life, doubt can easily creep in.
As I had mentioned in my last blog post, my dad was very ill with Covid and there were many people praying along side my family for his healing. I trusted that God could do anything He pleased, but as the circumstance becames worse I did not have much hope. God comforted me one night before bed as I was reading the Psalms. I asked him to lead me to a verse that would give me peace and I believe He led me to read this verse and it spoke to my heart.
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
Psalm 41:3
I did not know with full certainty that this verse meant my dad would be healed, but the verse brought me hope for the first time during his illness. I then prayed, Lord if it is your will please restore him to full health and the next morning I woke up with new hope. He is also on his way to a full recovery. Praise God!
There are going to be times in life we read the Bible or we listen to a sermon and we actively hear the word of the Lord. We have two options after listening: 1. We can hear the Word, trust, believe, hope and apply the Word of God to our life and the situation we are in. 2. We can hear the word of God, doubt and not personally apply what He has said to us.
One Biblical example of this is found in Genesis 18: The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Genesis 18:10-15
Sarah heard the word of the Lord and did not respond with trust and faith but instead she responded with doubt and disbelief. She even laughed at what God said. When God asked Sarah why she laughed and did not believe, she denied doing so out of fear. God then stated Is anything to difficult for me? He also knew she lied about laughing because God knows our hearts.
God knows when we hear him and God knows when our hearing results in trust, faith and hope and when it results in doubt and perhaps even scoffing at what He says. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have read or heard from the Lord and said something like this in your heart: “That’s a beautiful promise Lord but it does not apply to my life, maybe to other people’s lives but not mine. I hear you when you say all things work together for the good of those who love you, but my life has been filled with trials, sorrow, depression and disappointment, so while I acknowledge that I do love you, I cannot believe that these circumstances are working out for my good.”
This way of thinking (and I have been guilty of this for various reasons and in different seasons of life) is the equivelent of hearing God and laughing at what He just said. There is a mockery in our tone, doubting that His promises are for us because of our life circumstances. We laugh as Sarah did. Her physical circumstances were real, she was old, she was past the point of child bearing years, BUT God is God and there is no other. What he says is always right and will come true. The promises He has for His children, each of them, apply to you regardless of your physical or outside circumstances. He asks you just as He asks Abraham and Sarah Is anything too difficult for the Lord, Is anything to difficult for me to accomplish in your life, can my will be thwarted by man or physical cirumstances?’ These are all rhetorical questions with the answer being No, nothing is too difficult for God who created all things and who holds all things together.
So while there may be areas of our life in which we are doubting God, I would like us to consistently pray ‘Lord I believe You, but please help me overcome my unbelief’. He will be faithul to us and will strengthen us to believe His word implicitly. I also want to encourage you to look for His answered Word in your life. It may not look how you want it to, but he always fulfills his promises, in His perfect timing.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you
1 Peter 5:6
God exalts us at the proper time and that timing does not always match with our preferred plans. I am sure that Sarah hoped for children long before the stage of life she was in when it happened, but that was not God’s plan for her. He exalted her and Isaac was born to her exactly as God said it would happen. God operates in our lives, in His perfect timing for us. That does not mean He will operate in the way we have our lives ‘planned out’. It is not our will but His to be done and He knows the plans He has for us.
As you continue this week please keep in forefront of your heart and mind that God’s word and promises will be fulfilled in your life. My question to you is are you going to hear and believe Him with trust and hope? Or are you going to doubt Him and laugh in disbelief? Whichever you choose, make sure you know that Nothing is too difficult for the Lord and regardless of the doubt you may struggle with, He will accomplish His plans for you and He will fulfill His promises.
The Lord Bless you and Keep you,
Kara
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