There are times in our Christian experience when we might harbor doubts and second thoughts about the promises God has made to the believer, and even though we do not benefit in any way from cultivating a doubting spirit, yet there are certain circumstances in which it may be pretty difficult to believe that God will save or deliver as the situation may warrant.
However, it must be stated here that whatever the reasoning, the science, or the logic might be, the fact that The Lord has made to us several promises, which do cover all of the known, and unforeseen circumstances of life, should be enough to override any doubts or questions to the contrary, and thus it is good and right that we should always cultivate a disposition to believe God’s promises, regardless of what our reasonings may conclude.
But there are times when doubt becomes a sin, for the history of God’s dealings with us in the past should provide sufficient evidence and assurance of His faithfulness, and thus, after many undeniable instances of Him coming through for us, doubting Him in new situations becomes unwarranted. The servant of the Lord writes a golden nugget on this point, and we should be cautioned and sobered by its implication. Let’s read:
[Testimonies vol. 9. Pp. 10] “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and his teaching in our past history.”
A recorded incident, involving the disciples of Christ in what appeared to be a life-threatening situation, provides ample fodder for our study, because their experiences in this instance caused them to doubt, and wherever doubt is manifested, faith and hope automatically take a back seat. Thus, as we review this incident, let us always remember this singular point as pertains to God’s deliverance and our own safety:
Whenever we are beset by dangers or difficulties on every side, it is good and advisable to pray for help, however, our safety and deliverance depends not so much on our asking, but in the fact that God has promised to be with us till the end of the age. If a child is in imminent danger of being run over by a vehicle, the parents will naturally take the initiative in pulling the child out of harm’s way, whether or not the child asks.
On a much larger scale is our relationship with Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us by His own precious blood. Our faith should rest squarely on the sacred promise that all things work together for the good of those who love God. His manner, and timing of deliverance may not be our first preference, but it’s always the best. Let’s read:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Mark 4:36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
There are several very important points to note in this incident, and it is the will of God that we never forget the pertinent lessons to be applied in our own experiences, when it may seem as if our own ship is sinking too.
[1] With Christ in the vessel it cannot sink.
This point is of the utmost importance. The storms of life may seem to present dangers, either real or imaginary, and our vessels may begin to fill with troubled waters, but if Jesus is in the vessel it’s not going down, period. It is one of the devices of satan to tempt us to believe that in some desperate and trying situations, we will sink, and this temptation often produces doubt. But God has given us a mega promise to override all such reasoning. Let’s read:
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour”…
4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5 Fear not: for I am with thee”…
This leads us to our next, very important point:
[2] Sometimes in our Christian experiences, it may seem as if Jesus is sleeping, especially is this the case when our prayer requests may not receive the immediate answers we often crave. In this instance, Christ was really in a deep sleep, for He was weary from the hustle and bustle of the day, but we must focus our attention on the line of reasoning to be observed in circumstances where it may seem to us as if Christ is asleep. If the vessel has to sink, it will have to take down Jesus with it, and Christ isn’t going down under any circumstances. Thus there is another promise to stop this mode of thought, (the belief that God is sleeping) dead in its tracks, for God never sleeps nor slumbers. Let’s read:
Psalm 121:I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
[3] It is not the will of God that our peace should be disturbed by external circumstances, for when this is permitted, doubt and fear take over, and doubt is the diabolical enemy of faith. Doubt often causes us to use methods and alternatives which prove to be more disastrous than our actual troubles. Take for example when David was being hunted by king Saul, he made his escape to Achish, king of Gath, for in his mind, he had been forsaken by God, and so he believed he had no other choice but to take matters into his own hands.
In his desperation he saw no other way out than to go with plan “B”, by turning to the enemies of God for help. But when it was discovered by the pagan philistines that he was the one who had slain their champion Goliath, he started to sweat and dribble, for in his mind, he had now sealed his own doom. In other words, through fear and doubt, satan had succeeded in getting David to jump from the frying pan into the fire. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 20:1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, what have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
3 And David sware moreover, and said”… “as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
1st Samuel 21:10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
[4] Often when beset with trials, temptations, or even life-threatening situations, we try to deliver ourselves by “Rowing” against the currents, and often to no avail. It is also true, that in many dire circumstances, we remember that Jesus is in the vessel, only after everything and everyone else has failed us. Jesus should be to the Christian, not a last resort after everything has failed, but the very first choice in seeking to circumnavigate difficulties. Let’s read:
Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, what meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
[6] There is absolutely nothing to be gained by us worrying ourselves silly; not a single benefit, not a single solution, not a single remedial action, for worry constitutes one of those emotions that feed off of fear and doubt, hence the reason why it is antithetical to the cultivation and practice of living faith in God’s promises. In addition to this, worry often exacerbates volatile situations, driving us to make rash, hasty, or ill-advised moves. Let’s read:
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Thus it is, that the history of God’s people down through the ages have provided both evidence and assurance, that The Lord is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or think, and therefore, we who are standing on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, should not now be doubting, and fearful, as if our faith does not have sufficient, reasonable grounds to stand firmly upon. Hence the reason why we close off this chapter in our lives with a miniature review of the past experiences of the Hebrews. Let's read:
[Patriarchs And Prophets pp. 292>294] When they had been a month absent from Egypt, they made their first encampment in the wilderness. Their store of provisions had now begun to fail. There was scanty herbage in the wilderness, and their flocks were diminishing. How was food to be supplied for these vast multitudes? Doubts filled their hearts, and again they murmured. They had not as yet suffered from hunger; their present wants were supplied, but they feared for the future. They could not understand how these vast multitudes were to subsist in their travels through the wilderness, and in imagination they saw their children famishing.
The Lord permitted difficulties to surround them, and their supply of food to be cut short, that their hearts might turn to Him who had hitherto been their Deliverer. If in their want they would call upon Him, He would still grant them manifest tokens of His love and care. He had promised that if they would obey His commandments, no disease should come upon them, and it was sinful unbelief on their part to anticipate that they or their children might die for hunger.
God had promised to be their God, to take them to Himself as a people, and to lead them to a large and good land; but they were ready to faint at every obstacle encountered in the way to that land. But they were unwilling to trust the Lord any further than they could witness the continual evidences of His power. They forgot how their children had been spared when the destroying angel slew all the first-born of Egypt. They forgot the grand exhibition of divine power at the Red Sea.
They forgot that while they had crossed safely in the path that had been opened for them, the armies of their enemies, attempting to follow them, had been overwhelmed by the waters of the sea. They saw and felt only their present inconveniences and trials; and instead of saying, “God has done great things for us; whereas we were slaves, He is making of us a great nation,” they talked of the hardness of the way, and wondered when their weary pilgrimage would end.
The history of the wilderness life of Israel was chronicled for the benefit of the Israel of God to the close of time. The record of God's dealings with the wanderers of the desert in all their marchings to and fro, in their exposure to hunger, thirst, and weariness, and in the striking manifestations of His power for their relief, is fraught with warning and instruction for His people in all ages. The varied experience of the Hebrews was a school of preparation for their promised home in Canaan.
God would have His people in these days review with a humble heart and teachable spirit the trials through which ancient Israel passed, that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan. Many look back to the Israelites, and marvel at their unbelief and murmuring, feeling that they themselves would not have been so ungrateful; but when their faith is tested, even by little trials, they manifest no more faith or patience than did ancient Israel.
When brought into strait places, they murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Though their present needs are supplied, many are unwilling to trust God for the future, and they are in constant anxiety lest poverty shall come upon them, and their children shall be left to suffer. Some are always anticipating evil or magnifying the difficulties that really exist, so that their eyes are blinded to the many blessings which demand their gratitude.
The obstacles they encounter, instead of leading them to seek help from God, the only Source of strength, separate them from Him, because they awaken unrest and repining. Do we well to be thus unbelieving? Why should we be ungrateful and distrustful? Jesus is our friend; all heaven is interested in our welfare; and our anxiety and fear grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We should not indulge in a solicitude that only frets and wears us, but does not help us to bear trials.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture, if and when it is applied to our personal experiences, will effectively vanquish the spirit of doubt and fear. Let’s read:
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!