Category Archives: Doubts

Bible, Double-minded, Doubts, Faith, Scripture, Trust

NO WAVERING

ROMANS 4:20

“yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,”

Wavering on decisions or being unsure and unsettled about something can be destructive. I have always tried to make decisive decisions. After praying and seeking counsel where necessary, I have made decisions and lived with the consequences. My prayer is always that my decisions will honor the Lord and reflect His glory. That has not always been the case, though. We can all learn to waffle or waver less.

In today’s verse, Paul uses a Greek word that is translated here as “waver.” It’s the Greek word diakrinó, which can be used positively or negatively, depending on the context. In fact, diakrinó is used about half the time in both ways. Here it has a negative connotation. Abraham did not waver in his faith. He believed God when He made the promises to him.

APPLICATION

I want to share something I found in my commentaries. It is from a source I don’t think I have every used. But it gives a great description of today’s verse. “We have here a fuller account than anywhere else of the nature of Faith as essentially Trust; not mere historic belief, nor mental assent, but personal Trust; reposed, with application to self of the consequences, on the Divine Promiser as such. We have also a precious suggestion of some reasons (if we may say so) why God prescribes Faith as the condition of the justification of a sinner. Faith, we see, is an act of the soul which looks wholly away from “self” (as regards both merit and demerit), and honours the Almighty and All-gracious in a way not indeed in the least meritorious (because merely reasonable, after all), but yet such as to ‘touch the hem of His garment.’ It brings His creature to Him in the one right attitude — complete submission and confidence. We thus see, in part, why faith, and only faith, is the way to reach and touch the Merit of the Propitiation.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

I know that was a lot to throw at you. Reread it if you need to. Abraham’s exhibition of faith was remarkable. James gives us something similar to think about in James 1:6-8. “6 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. 7 For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” No one wants to be like that. Am I right?

Place your faith in God’s promises. Believe that He will do exactly what He says He will do. Of course, that means we have to trust His timing, not ours. Abraham waited about 14 years to see that promise of a son come true. Do you think he didn’t at some point in those 14 years have a little doubt? Of course, he did. But his faith did not waver. He trusted. Do you?

Lord, I will trust You. Help my unbelief!

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

Standard
Abiding, Bible, Confidence, Doubts, Freedom, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Scripture

PERPLEXING BEHAVIOR

GALATIANS 4:20

“but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am at a loss about you!”

We have all seen new believers who get saved and on fire for Jesus only to revert back to their old behaviors as soon as they move away or start hanging with their old crowd. Compare it to a drug addict who gets all cleaned up in rehab, makes vows or promises and then goes right back to the drugs as soon as they are out of rehab. That kind of behavior can make you raise some doubts as to their sobriety in the first place.

Perhaps I need to remind you that when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians, he was not with them. He had invested much in them and now, since he has been gone, their behavior is perplexing to him. He is confused as to why they would have deserted the teachings he had given them on the Christ life just because he was no longer there. The phrase “to change my tone of voice” means Paul had much rather speak about them with confidence than doubting.

APPLICATION

The Greek word used for “I am at a loss” is aporeo. It means to be perplexed or in doubt. It is used over in 2 Corinthians 4:8. “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;”Now, let me quickly say that I don’t think Paul was doubting their salvation. He had seen the Holy Spirit work in their lives. Unlike during the Old Testament days when the Holy Spirit would enter and leave someone, in Christ, once the Holy Spirit has come into our lives through salvation, it remains.

However, we can refuse to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit and get into some awful pickles. In John 16:13-14 Jesus tells us why surrendering our will to the Spirit is so important. “13 ‘But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you.’”

Don’t you want to know what Jesus is trying to tell you? I sure do. Then we have to stop all this perplexing behavior and surrender to the Spirit. Before you make a decision or do anything, ask the Father in heaven. He will direct the Spirit to inform you. I believe that. Stop acting on your own whims. They usually fail us. He never will.

Father, I do not want to live a perplexing life. I want my life to be centered in Your will.

Standard
Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Doubts, Encouragement, Following, Humiliation, Scripture

I’M DONE WITH GOD

MALACHI 3:14

“‘You have said, “It is pointless to serve God; and what benefit is it for us that we have done what He required, and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of armies?”’”

There have been times in my life when I have felt totally inept. Everything I did seemed to fall apart. Indeed, it felt pointless to continue to try to do the thing I was attempting. Failure was assured. I can remember one football game in high school when we were losing in the fourth quarter. The coach called a timeout and gave us a pep talk. It was simple – play til the clock hits 0:00. We felt like zeroes.

In today’s verse, the Lord is reminding the people what they had been saying about following Him. They saw the faithful still suffering in poverty. They had decided it was better to not obey since obedience only brought sorrow. Serving Jehovah seemed useless. They had rather reap the benefits of the world than wallow in the pits.

APPLICATION

Oh, but they were forgetting one important thing. This world is not our home. The things we obtain here are only temporal. They will not last. The faithful realized that. They were not obeying God to get things down here. They were laying up treasure in heaven, where neither moths nor rust can destroy.

In 1 Corinthians 15:19 Paul says, “If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.” How true! If my walk with Christ was dependent on what God gives me down here, I would have long ago left the path. It is not about that. He does bless us down here, though. I have been blessed in so many ways. But I do not and cannot live for those things.

Neither can you. Follow Christ out of joy. Follow Christ because of how much He loves you. Follow Christ because the promise we have in heaven. Follow Christ because ________________ (you fill in the blank). We all need to remember why we are serving Him here. We serve Him for what is coming. Praise God!

Lord, I love You and want to show You by serving You here on this earth. I look forward to my heavenly rewards.

Standard
Abiding, Agreement, Asking, Bible, Doubts, Encouragement, Faith, God's Will, Modeling, Obedience, Prayer, Scripture, Submission

THE LORD RELENTED

AMOS 7:3

“The LORD relented of this. ‘It shall not be,’ said the LORD.”

All my life I have been told that prayers can change things. I had always just accepted that as fact. I mean, why else should we pray? Yes, we acknowledge God as our Savior and Creator. We praise Him for who He is. We confess our sins to Him. And then we make our requests to Him. But why bother with that last step unless we believe we can change things with our prayers.

Amos cried out to God in verse 2, and it says in verse 3 that God relented. What does that mean? It means God changed His mind. Further punishment was withheld. God decided to not do what He had planned to do. Amos’ prayer moved God to change. Wow! Do you believe that is still possible?

APPLICATION

I believe with all my heart that is possible. I believe with all my heart that as I pray, submitting myself to His will, that He will hear my voice, bend His ear to earth and answer my prayer. Sometimes He says no. Sometimes He says not now. And other times He says yes.

I don’t know why He doesn’t always answer yes. I won’t know that until I am in heaven. But I am thankful for the times He does says yes. I don’t understand the mind of God. Who can? We have such finite minds. God works on a whole different realm than we do. I have to trust that.

I will, however, continue to pray, believing my prayers are being heard by the Creator of the universe. I may stir His heart as I pray and move Him to intercede in a way I had not even thought of. Based on that truth, I pray. I cry out like Amos. I am thankful that He is listening.

God, I cry out to You. I beseech You to move in my life and the lives of those who are reading this right now.

Standard
Advice, Advocate, Bible, Born, Calling, Commitment, Darkness, Doubts, Encouragement, Friends, Infidelity, Obedience, Prayer, Scripture

WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?

HOSEA 1:8

“When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son.” 

My wife and I have three children. One of those, Cathleen, is in heaven, having only lived six hours due to a premature birth back in 1987. Our other two children are now 34 and 30. There is no doubt whose children they are. They were birthed by my wife, but they were conceived by us both. I know my children are my children.

I couldn’t help but wonder, though, about Hosea’s children. Here we have the birth of a third child, a son. Remember, Hosea was told to a marry Gomer even though God knew and told Hosea that she would be unfaithful. How did Hosea know if these children born by Gomer were his or someone else’s? He didn’t. He simply was staying with Gomer because the Lord told him to. He was being obedient in the face of doubt and mistrust. That took a powerful amount of faith.

APPLICATION

Have you ever had to trust the Lord during a dark time? Perhaps you were going through a period of testing and your faith was shaken. Maybe you were doubting whether God was there at all. I have talked to many a person who have had those feelings. How do you get through those times? It’s not easy. In fact, it’s impossible on your own.

So, what do you do? First, you turn to other believers for support and prayer. You need allies on your side who can love you and confront you, if needed. Secondly, you turn to the Word for guidance. You won’t find true deliverance from any other source. Those other sources may make you feel better, but they won’t provide lasting results. Finally, you come before your heavenly Father, begging Him for deliverance.

Now, you may say those are in the wrong order. Perhaps. But I know that most people won’t go to God first. They turn to those close to them first for help. Any true friend will immediately point them to God. So, these can actually be happening at the same time. Don’t get stuck on the order. Just follow them.

Are you going through a time of questioning God? I bet Hosea had a few of those moments while married to Gomer. Who wouldn’t have? But he remained faithful to God and to Gomer. He was obedient to God’s original calling. Will you do that? Go back to that original calling on your life. Let the Lord remind you of who you are in Him.

Lord, I don’t understand everything You ask me to do. I simply have to trust that You are faithful and will see me through.

Standard
Advice, Anxiety, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Choices, Double-minded, Doubts, Encouragement, Following, God's Will, Mentoring, Parenting, Promises, Scripture, Trust, Truth

OF THE TRUTH

1 JOHN 3:19

“We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him”

Have you ever had doubts? I mean, really had doubts about something? You think you know what the truth is, but something just keeps bugging you. You can’t seem to put your finger on it. Doubt is a worrying thing, isn’t it? No one wants to feel unsure of themselves. At least, I don’t. I want to be assured that my actions and beliefs are grounded on something solid.

John is telling us here in this verse that we can be assured. How? By relying on the truths of God’s Word. Nothing else is certain. He says it “will assure our heart before Him.” What does that mean? The word “assure” means to be persuaded. But not just any persuasion. It means the Lord persuades the believer to be confident in His preferred-will. It involves obedience, but it is the result of God’s persuasion.

APPLICATION

Have you taught your kids to jump in the water to you? How did you do that? Did you stand way out in the pool or lake and tell them to just run and jump? Of course, not. You did it slowly. You stepped just away from them and had them jump into your arms. Then you backed away a little more, until they were literally diving out into your arms.

You had to persuade them to trust you. The Lord knows the same is true for us as we learn to trust Him. He wants us to teach our children these small truths of trust. As our children learn to trust the Lord in little things, they will begin to trust Him with bigger things. Of course, the biggest thing we trust Him with is our salvation. And if we can trust Him with that, why can’t we trust Him with the other stuff?

What are you holding back from God? What are you not trusting Him with? Let me ask you a question. Are you persuaded that you are in His will right now? Hmmm? The Lord doesn’t want you unstable or unsure in your ways. Lean on Him. Trust Him to guide you in all your days. He will!

Father, forgive me of my doubts. Reassure me today that You are guiding and protecting me. I will trust You! 

Standard