Doubt is destructive. It fills us with uncertainty, makes us indecisive, and affects our ability to connect with God and receive His wisdom. We know doubt is at work when we struggle to believe the following truths:
God loves us all the time. Most of us accept the Lord’s deep affection for us when we are “good,” but how about when we’re disobedient? His love for us does not fluctuate with our behavior. We can be certain of this because “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). That’s amazing grace—God loving us while we rebelled against Him.
God has a plan to forgive us for our disobedience. We know the Father promises to forgive us when we confess our sins, but we often have trouble believing we are forgiven. We must not use feelings to determine truth. God’s Word is true, and it says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12). That is a description of complete forgiveness.
God has called us to serve Him. Our Father often invites us to join Him in His work—teaching a Sunday school class, helping a family in need, taking a leadership role, or speaking words about Jesus to another person. The presence of doubt might cause us, like Moses, to make excuses for why we cannot obey (Ex. 4:10). But God promises He has equipped us with everything we need to do the work He has chosen for us (Eph. 2:10).
The opposite of doubt is faith. Which best describes your state of mind?
The apostle Paul frequently wrote about the need to rely upon Jesus Christ’s strength. He passed on to his readers a promise that the Lord had given him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul was a great Christian leader, but in God’s eyes, he was no more deserving of grace than any other person. You and I can have the same confidence in the Lord’s power that this courageous first-century missionary did.
When Paul received Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he was adopted as God’s son. Therefore, he had all the privileges that go with being reborn: His sins were forgiven (Acts 2:38), he was set apart for the Lord’s service (Gal. 1:15), and he received the Holy Spirit (John 14:17). Paul was an effective servant because the Spirit would release power into his life whenever God had a purpose for him to fulfill.
Consider Paul’s jail time. To help him withstand the rigors of imprisonment, the Holy Spirit provided physical and mental stamina. And at the same time, He burdened the hearts of other believers to provide for Paul’s material needs (Phil. 4:18). Most importantly, God’s Spirit expanded the apostle’s ministry by giving him the courage to speak of Jesus Christ with his Roman guards (Phil. 1:13).
The apostle Paul relied upon the Lord for strength and consequently never gave up on his faith. We serve the same all-powerful God, which means we have no excuse for running away from His plan, either. His Spirit dwells in us and is ready to release power when we obey our Father’s call.
In adventure movies, we often see people trapped and helpless, frantically looking for a way to escape. Real life can sometimes feel that way for us, and as we begin to look for a way out, our prayers become filled with requests for rescue—physical healing, changed circumstances, additional provision.
Did you ever consider that even more important than physical rescue is spiritual liberation? (See Eph. 6:12.) First and foremost, Jesus Christ delivered you from the power and penalty of sin. As your living Savior, He also knows your continued helplessness in the face of sinful habits, uncontrolled emotions, and ungodly thoughts. He wants to free you from these sins. So seek out His offer of spiritual rescue every day—whether or not a physical crisis looms over you.
Follow the example of the psalmist, who cried out to God for deliverance. Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Start by admitting your helplessness to the Lord and to yourself. Confess any fears, unbelief, or self-reliance that you might detect in your life. Surrender all further attempts at change that are done apart from the heavenly Father. Then turn your gaze toward Him. Think about His relationship with you, who He is, and what He desires. Let the Holy Spirit fill your spirit with the truth of God’s Word. Meditate on it. Commit yourself to following His way. Then trust God, and wait on Him to change you from the inside out. A day will arrive when the helpless feeling will leave to be replaced by the joy of being free. When it does, give God the glory.
We spend a lot of time worrying about physical needs—such as our house, car, food, finances, and health. All these are important in our life, but one form of assurance supersedes all the others. God desires for us to be confident in Him and in His saving grace. He gives us several reasons to be sure of our eternal security.
- Jesus makes a personal promise to all believers: “No one will snatch [you] out of My hand” (John 10:28)—and He does not make promises unless He intends to keep them. To assume that we can take an action that would separate us from the Lord once we have been saved would essentially be calling Him a liar.
- The hand of God is used throughout Scripture as a symbol of His strength. Once we have received Christ, we are safely in His palm, and no force or action can remove us. If Satan could snatch us away, either by tempting us into sin or through his own power, it would mean he is stronger than God. We know that isn’t true because God is omnipotent (2 Chron. 20:6).
- Jesus is our advocate with a holy God who cannot look upon sin. In fact, Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Christ “save[s] forever” because He is available to intercede with God on our behalf. In human terms, Jesus is at the right hand of God as a tangible reminder that our sin debt is paid in full.
Through His Son Jesus, God has offered us not only salvation, but salvation eternally, with no loopholes, caveats, or maybes. You can be sure!
Are you living thoughtfully and intentionally—or are you living automatically? It’s so easy to get up each morning, do our work, enjoy some relaxation or entertainment, and fall into bed each night without giving any thought to God’s involvement in our everyday life. But to be ignorant of how He has blessed, guided, protected, and warned us is a foolish way to live. Just consider the benefits of keeping our spiritual eyes and ears open throughout the day.
We who are aware of God’s presence during daily activities enjoy the peace of knowing He’s always in control and working to achieve His good purposes. Day-to-day experiences with Him teach us to know and love Him more.
When we learn to see God’s footprints throughout each week, we will become aware of the scope of His involvement in His children’s lives. Maybe He strengthened us for a task or opened a door of opportunity. Perhaps He guided our decisions or helped us respond in a godly way to a difficult person or a challenging situation.
If our ears are open to the Lord’s warnings and instructions, we won’t repeat the same mistakes again and again. But if we remain deaf to His voice, we run the risk of continuing in unhealthy thought patterns, negative emotions, and foolish responses.
Each night before you go to sleep, take some time to reflect on the day’s activities. The heavenly Father is constantly with you, guarding and guiding your way. He wants you to see Him in everything and understand life from His perspective as you rely on His wisdom and power to face any challenge.
