The Sea of Doubt
As humans we all experience moments of
doubt. It's how we are set up. When bad things happen, we begin to doubt that
it will ever turn around for the better. As believers, we are taught that we
should give no place to doubt because we should never, EVER doubt God. We know
that He is faithful in fulfilling His promises and we know that nothing is
impossible for Him. However, no matter how hard we try, from time to time doubt
creeps in. It consumes us. It makes us question every thing that has happened
up until that exact moment that things are not going too well. I've done the tango with doubt may of
times in my life and it's definitely not a good feeling. I'm sure it doesn't
make God feel good either because it means we doubt Him and his power. While we may have all experienced
this at some time or another, trust me you are not alone. There were even
people, great leaders in the Bible who doubted God.
One
specific story I want to touch on is in the book of Joshua. After the
Israelites shout down the walls of Jericho, The Lord gives them specific
instructions. He tells them that all the gold and fancy stuff (Chapter 6 v
18-19) were to be brought back as a sacrifice to Him. The Israelites were not
to take it for themselves. However, you know there always has to be that one
person who seems to miss the memo or in this case blatantly disobey the
instructions. The Lord helped them to cross over the Jordan River just like He did
when they were coming out of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. Once they got to
the other side, He helped them to defeat their enemies. But once it was
discovered that the Lord's command was disobeyed, He departed from them. He
allowed their enemies to defeat them. Now Joshua began to feel so discouraged.
He was probably thinking, man God was just hanging with us. He was just helping
us to fight our enemies off. He was with us crossing the river. So where is He
now that our enemies have defeated us?
In
that one moment, all Joshua felt was doubt. It didn't matter that God had helped
them defeat thousands of armies and conquer lands they never imagined they
would someday possess. Chapter 7:7 says that Joshua cried out. He even thought
it was better that they stayed on the other side of the Jordan River. The Bible says that sin separates us
from God, “But your iniquities
have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so
that he will not hear” Isaiah 59:2. When we sin, we can feel as if God is no longer with us. We can feel as
if He is so far from us. It can also cause us to doubt. In that one moment that
we feel He is no longer there, we can doubt every single thing He has done for
us in the past. We forget how faithful He has been to us even though we haven't
always been faithful. We forget how He has guided our every footstep. It is
important for us to remember that even though we sin, God hasn't given up on us.
He loves the sinner but not the sin. His word says that if we ask for
forgiveness that He is just to forgive us
(1 John 1:9).
Even though
we mess up and we might feel like He is no longer there, never doubt who God was
before you made that mistake. And never doubt who He is because He is still
there. He will always love us no matter what we do.
So
if you find yourself in one of these moments, don't allow yourself to be
swallowed by the sea of doubt. Trust in The Lord. He will always be faithful to
us. Just remember to walk in obedience and when you do that, there will be no
room for doubt because God will continually show up and show us how powerful He
is in our lives.
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