“Doubt”
I found out one of my weaknesses a few weeks ago and I realized that it had been with me for a while. It had lingered inconspicuously in my life, and I didn’t even know it was there.
I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t seem to make major decisions in my life. I couldn’t make up my mind.
Then I began to study God’s Word concerning my situation. As He always does when we come to Him, He opened my spiritual eyes and put me on the road to correction by first giving my problem a name:
Doubt.
One dictionary definition for doubt is “a wavering of opinion or belief”; another is “a condition of uncertainty.”
That was me. I was so fearful of making the wrong decision, I couldn’t make any decision.
I remember sitting recently at a restaurant, unable to decide between the pineapple coconut cheesecake and the hot apple crisp pie. My friend suggested I try the cheesecake, but that pie sounded awfully good! Finally, I ordered the cheesecake. The waitress left, and my friend resumed our prior conversation. I wasn’t listening, though. “I should have gotten that hot apple crisp,” I blurted out. A bit irritated with me, he kindly asked our waitress to change my order, and she graciously agreed. At which point, I wondered if I should have just stuck with the cheesecake…
The Holy Spirit reminded me of that scene, showing me that doubt corrupted my decision-making process in issues big and small. James 1:5-8, says this about doubt:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him 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; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
That passage jumped out at me. If we ask God for something without doubting, as James says, that must mean there are a few things we have to know in advance. We have to know that He loves us and that His will is best for our lives. We must know that if our hearts are pure toward God, our desires will fall in line with His will and He’ll grant our petitions.
We already know, for example, that God wants us to be wise in our pursuits. So when we ask God for wisdom, we’re not asking if He’ll give us wisdom. We’re simply demonstrating that our minds and hearts are in line with what God already wants to do. Asking, then, is actually about us coming into agreement with God and proclaiming faith in His will. The same principle holds when we ask God for financial provision or peace after a storm or a spirit-filled marriage.
Sometimes we do make mistakes in our decisions. Still, our faith says that in the long run God can turn what the devil meant for evil into something good.
Thinking back to my dessert choices at the restaurant, I recall my first bite of that hot apple crisp. It was delicious! But I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed the cheesecake, too. Either way, God had my “back.”
Sharon Tubbs is a professional journalist and is the founder of Christian Writers of Tampa Bay in Florida. Her book Milk & Honey: 10 Principles to Embracing Your Promised Land is available through her website, www.EmbraceYourLand.com. It can also be ordered at most major bookstores. Sharon Tubbs can be reached at EmbraceYourLand@verizon.net.
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About the Author
Sharon Tubbs has been a professional journalist for 11 years and is the founder of Christian Writers of Tampa Bay, a monthly educational and support group in Tampa, Fla. Her book Milk & Honey: 10 Principles to Embracing Your Promised Land was recently released and is available through her website at www.EmbraceYourLand.com. It can also be ordered at most major bookstores. Sharon Tubbs can be reached at EmbraceYourLand@verizon.net.
Copyright 2007 Sharon Tubbs. All rights reserved.
