Doubt: March 15, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY MARCH 15, 2012

DOUBT

DEFINITION:

An unsettled state of opinion; indecision; uncertainty.

SCRIPTURE:

O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:31

Be merciful to those who doubt. James 22-23.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Why do we doubt? This is the question that Jesus asked and a question each one of us must answer. Doubts come from the great deceiver, the “Father of lies,” Satan himself. Satan uses false teachers to deceive believers in Jesus and this causes them to doubt. Doubt is Satan’s tool. If our faith is little, it is easy for doubt to creep into our lives.

Jude, in his book, deals with the issue of doubt and weak faith that believers have to deal with. Jude tells us (above) that we should be “merciful to those who doubt.” He wants us to be understanding and not judgmental toward those who struggle in their faith.

Believers are often critical of other believers. A person who has questions or doubts about his Christian faith should not be condemned or shunned as an enemy of the faith. Jude tells us that rather than condemning such people we should show them compassion and endeavor to bolster up their faith so that they can be strong and secure in their trust in the Lord.

Not only does Satan use others to deceive us and bring doubts about our faith, but he uses fear that comes when we face difficult circumstances and life gets scary.

In the verse above from Matthew, we read the account of when the disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee being tossed by the waves and saw Jesus, not knowing who He was, walking on the sea. The disciples were troubled feeling it was a ghost that they were seeing and cried out with fear.

But Jesus spoke to them, “Be of good cheer, it is I; do not be afraid (or doubt).” Peter responded by asking if the person they saw was the Lord and, if it was, to command him to come to Him on the water. Jesus said, “Come.” Peter responded and began walking on the water toward the Lord. At that moment Peter was fearless. He was focused only on seeing Jesus.

The wind became boisterous and the waves became huge. Fear caused Peter’s faith to grow weak and doubt began to take hold of him. The scripture tells us Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and cried out, “Lord save me.” Jesus held out His hand and His words to Peter are so relative for us today “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

As believers when we have doubts because our faith is weak the words of Jesus challenges us to reach out to Him and focus on Him, not on our circumstances. This is a challenge to all of us that should be a goal that we work toward daily. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not be overcome with doubt.

LEARNING:

We are memorizing the Ten Commandments. This week’s commandment is found in Exodus 20: 4-6:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Paraphrased)

PRAYER:

Help me to eliminate doubt in my life by putting my eyes on Jesus in all that I do. May my family learn this lesson so that we can stand strong in our faith and reach out to strengthen the faith of others who are dealing with doubt.