This week has been one of my greatest tests of my faith ever. I have been
battling doubt. I live by a personal life rule, so when the doubt demon
starts challenging me I immediately create a plan of action and retaliate, as I
know that I must act right away or my doubt will grow. I Challenge the doubt
with action every time and I end up stretching my faith. Because I am confident
of one thing, “Doubt” and “Action” are incompatible. Here is a fact; if you doubt
you can accomplish a vision or a goal, then you can't accomplish it. You have
to have confidence in your ability, and faith in your God, and then be tough
enough to put your head down and follow through. It is always easier to believe
than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative. I mean take “Jealousy” it
lives upon doubts, it becomes madness, or ceases entirely as soon as we pass
from doubt to certainty. This week I have been facing a great opportunity, a
life changing opportunity at that, something I really want and need to happen
and it is all about my career. So who shows up right away, yep you guessed it “Doubt”
has come to rest in my mind. So therefore my prayer time has increased, my
faith is growing, and I am getting stronger. Hebrews 11:1 ~ now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, with evidence of things not seen. This is the
most powerful way to defeat doubt. At least it is for me.
So here is the thing, I personally do not believe that anyone
is immune to doubt. After all, we all are only human. It can and does happen to
us all. You've just got to know how to handle it when it comes. Even the
greatest men and women of God recorded in the Bible had to deal with doubt.
Jesus said of John the Baptist, in Matthew 11:11 we read "Verily I say
unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than
John the Baptist" to me this
means John was greater in the sight of Jesus than Abraham, Joseph, Moses,
David, or any Old Testament character you can name. Yet John doubted the most
important thing of all by questioning whether Jesus was really the Christ. John
the Baptist had been cast into prison for criticizing Herod about marrying his
brother’s wife, an incestuous relationship. He had been there sometime between
six months and two years and became so discouraged that he asked two of his
disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him if He really was the Christ. It's easy to
read that and not think much about it, but the truth is, it
was nothing but unbelief on the part of John the Baptist. Think
about who John was. He was separated unto God and filled with the Holy Spirit
while he was still in the womb. Even Jesus wasn't filled with the Holy Spirit
from the womb. It is believed he lived in the desert near the Dead
Sea with the Essens, the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They
were a people who were super-legalistic who dogmatically practiced many rituals
of self denial. He certainly had not lived what we would call an easy life.
John was separated and focused on his purpose.
His entire life was committed to preparing the way for
Jesus, who was the Christ, the Son of God. He spent thirty years preparing for
a ministry that would only last six short months. John is the one who saw Jesus
and said, Again we read in John 1:29 ~ "Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world". The anointing on his life
had to be exceptionally powerful because his ministry defied logic. Thousands
of people from many nations came to the middle of nowhere to hear this man
preach, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And
God had revealed to him that through a visible sign from heaven he would know
who the Christ was. He would see the Spirit of God descending upon the Messiah
in bodily shape as a dove. That came to pass when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River . At
that time, John was absolutely certain that Jesus was the Christ. He had zero
doubt. He was so adamant about it that he said John 1:34 says ~ "I saw, and
bare record that this is the Son of God". Then we read In Luke
3:16 he said, "One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am
not worthy to unloose." And in John 3:30 he said, "He must
increase, but I must decrease." Man so many promises of faith Hope
and love, and yet we still doubt?
However, after being imprisoned for a period of time, he
began to doubt. This says a number of things, but an important one is the fact
that anyone can doubt. How did Jesus respond to John's doubt? Well, He
certainly didn't respond the way most of us do. He told John's disciples to go
back and tell him of the miracles they had witnessed and that John would be
blessed if he would just believe. That's it. Jesus didn't try and make John
feel better by letting him know He understood his pain or by making a few
complimentary comments. Jesus reserved those comments till after John's
disciples left (Luke 7:24-28). This puzzled me for many years. Why didn't Jesus
say these things about John the Baptist in the hearing of John's disciples so
they could have brought him that word? It seemed to me like that would have
helped John more than just telling him to look at the miracles, and he'll be
blessed if he believes. Years after I first had these questions, I was reading
from Isaiah 35 and came across the passage that says, Isaiah 35:5-6 ~ "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a
hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break
out, and streams in the desert". So I do get it, Jesus has already defeated
doubt as goes before us with every prayer to the Father, and this was exactly
the answer that Jesus gave to John's messengers. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew
11:4-6:"Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the
deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."
I mean let’s just think about it for a minute? Jesus performed all the miracles
Isaiah prophesied He would do, and threw in the healing of a leper and raising
someone from the dead just for good measure. What Jesus did was He perfectly
fulfilled the prophecy about Himself, and then referred John the Baptist back
to that word. Jesus reminded John of the scriptures, to deal with his doubts.
That's Jesus' method of dealing with our doubts. Many of us have Bibles lying
around gathering dust. Some of us even carry one. But when we're struggling
with unbelief, we don't want a scripture; we want something tangible, something
emotional that we can feel. We would rather have Jesus just put His arm around
us and say something about how everything will be all right. That would make us
feel better. Romans 10:17 But overcoming
doubt isn't just about feeling better; it's about getting back into faith that
only comes from the Word of God. Jesus sent the Word back with
John's disciples. He knew this would stir up John's spirit to overcome the
doubt. Peter understood this about faith when he wrote about it in 2
Peter 1:12-15, which says,” Wherefore
I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things,
though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it
meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in
remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as
our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be
able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance."
Peter was stating how important it was for his words to be received, as
they were, in truth, the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13). To prove to them
that these were not just fables he made up, Peter refers to the time they were
with Jesus on the mountain. They saw Jesus shine as the brightness of the sun.
The Shekinah glory cloud of God overshadowed them all, and they heard an
audible voice out of heaven say, "This is my beloved Son: hear him"
(Mark 9:7). They also saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. That is pretty
impressive! But Peter went on to say in 2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure
word of prophecy." What could possibly be more sure than all these
supernatural signs? Peter gives that answer in the next verse when he talks
about the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20). The Scriptures are more sure and more faith
building and doubt destroying than seeing Jesus transfigured or hearing an
audible voice from heaven. Hallelujah! The only sure way to overcome doubt is
to place your faith in the Word of God and depend on that more sure word of
prophecy. Don't allow your five senses to dominate your thinking. You must come
to a place to where God's Word is more real to you than anything you can see,
taste, hear, smell, or feel. When you're in doubt, refer back to the Word of
God just the way Jesus told John the Baptist to do. Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the Word. There are only two times recorded in the Bible when Jesus
marveled at anything. Once He marveled at the people's great unbelief (Mark
6:6), and in Matthew 8:10 He marveled at a Gentile soldier's great faith. A
faith that made Jesus marvel is worth examining. What was different about it?
The number one difference was what the centurion said, Matthew 8:8-9 "But speak the word only, and
my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers
under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he
cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." The centurion had a faith that was in
God's Word alone. He didn't have to have Jesus come to his house and wave His
hand over the sick servant. If Jesus would just give him a word, that was all
he needed. Contrast this centurion's
faith with the little faith of Thomas, who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples.
The first time the risen Christ appeared to His disciples, Thomas wasn't present.
The other ten disciples told Thomas that Jesus was resurrected, but it was
eight more days before Jesus appeared to His disciples with Thomas present.
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We read in John
20:25 "But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand
into his side, I will not believe." Jesus walked up to Thomas and told him
to put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into Jesus'
side and to not be faithless but believing. Thomas fell on his knees and
confessed Jesus as his Lord and God. Look at John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto
him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have believed." Jesus placed a greater
blessing on those who believe without seeing than those who believe because
they have seen. In other words, there is a greater anointing on believing the
Word than believing signs and wonders. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in signs
and wonders. Jesus used them like a bell to draw people unto Himself and so
should we. But the ultimate, the more sure word of prophecy, is the written
Word of God. There is a greater blessing on just believing God's Word than
there is on believing because of supernatural circumstances. Those who are
looking for circumstances to confirm their faith will fail when the strong
battles of unbelief come. We have to get our faith so rooted in God's Word
alone that we can withstand a hurricane. The reason Jesus didn't try to make
John feel better with a few kind words, an emotional touch, was not because He
didn't care. He cared for John so much that He gave John His best the written
Word of God. That's how Jesus dealt with own His temptations (Matt. 4), and
that was and still is God's best way for us to deal with our temptations to not
believe. Maybe there's a reason the Lord hasn't used an emotional touch to
deliver you from unbelief. Maybe it's because He loves you so much that He's
trying to help you operate in the highest form of faith. Meaning, that faith trumps
doubt and that faith takes the Lord at His Word. If the least of the saints
today are greater than John the Baptist was then Matt. 11:11 ~ surely the Lord
is wanting us to operate on at least the same level in which He dealt with
John's unbelief. So I will end it like
this; the relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means a fake one. Commitment
is healthiest when it is not without doubt but in spite of doubt. Because our
doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we might win, by fearing to
attempt. We must believe in ourselves, I do believe that in many cases doubt is
the beginning, not the end, of wisdom. However, doubt is the father of
invention. The fearful unbelief is unbelief in ourselves, and philosophy tells
us when superficially studied, excites doubt, when thoroughly explored, it
dispels it. So when in doubt, just don't be, chose to hold true to your faith. To
doubt is worse than to have lost; go in confident and with faith, not doubt. To despair is but to antedate those miseries
that must fall on us. I personally know that doubt is a pain too lonely to know
that faith is actually his twin brother. It is always easier to believe than to
deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative however with the Mercy of God, and
the Love of Christ, our Hearts will always be naturally optimistic ~ Donnie
Bolena
