The Damage of Doubting

Ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6-7 (nkjv)

Satan’s most effective, most destructive, most time-tested weapon used against believers is doubt. When that slick-talking snake with the velvet voice sowed the first seed of doubt in Eve’s mind by questioning what God had said (see Genesis 3:1), it started a spiritual tsunami which called into question God’s love, God’s character, and His motives down through the pages of history, even among the Bible’s spiritual giants.

I wonder if Abraham shook his head doubting as he watched Sarah light the ninety-eighth candle on his birthday cake and there was still no Isaac. I wonder if Moses doubted God’s resolve to take the Hebrew people to the Promised Land as the Ten Commandments came crashing down on their idolatrous golden calf. I wonder if Joseph doubted God’s purpose for his life as he cried out pitifully to his treacherous brothers from the back of a caravan headed for Egypt and slavery.

Under the right circumstances, even the most committed, sincere followers have fallen prey to the ravages of demonic doubt. You know the scenario. The path of life gets steeper. The way becomes more treacherous. Joy disappears behind dark clouds of worry and disappointment. Obstacles block the way to happiness and fulfillment. Pain obscures hope. And suddenly the Devil uses life’s difficult circumstances to invalidate your most holy faith the same way he misled poor Eve—by whispering doubt about God’s ability to keep His promises.

Do you still believe? Even a little faith chases away doubt. Despite everything life has thrown at you, are you still reaching up to God in faith, albeit with a trembling heart and a shaking hand? Then hold on! You must not give up and you cannot give in. Even though your faith may be as small as a mustard seed or as weak as a flickering candle God calls it mountain-moving, problem-solving, world-changing faith. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, nkjv). Amen.