Doubt is a belief of uncertainty about the Truth, fact, or existence of something within God’s creation.
Stephen Phinney | IOM Contributing Author
It can also refer to a lack of belief or conviction about what the Holy Word of God calls sin. Doubt can be a belief or attitude that one does not experience the indwelling Life of Jesus Christ, His truthfulness, or His trustworthiness or in the people who make such claims. To doubt is to call into question the existence of Truth, which results in questioning Jesus Christ. In the Bible, doubt is first noted in Genesis 3 when Satan tempted Eve. Doubt and temptation are kissing cousins.
One of my pastels was displayed at a local art show recently. It was displayed on a tripod at eye level. It is titled “Crucifixion With Christ.” It depicts a blooded Jesus on the Cross. However, on the back side of the Cross is a shadow man, representing the fallen nature of humanity – the old self. The pastel is life-size, so it demands attention. As I was standing off to the side, a young man walked into the gallery. He immediately approached the pastel. I decided to stand back and allow the portrayal of Christ and the old self to do its job. He gazed at the pastel for over 20 minutes and began to cry, at which time his mother walked in. Watching their intimate dialogue refreshed my soul. Then both of them quietly walked out of the gallery. Twenty minutes later, the mother returned to tell me what happened. The boy had lost his father to death two months earlier. Standing before the pastel, he received Jesus Christ as his Savior, wanting to be with Jesus and his father, who was a devout believer.
What if the child had doubted? There is a good reason Jesus said we must have the Faith of a child. Doubt not only blocks intimacy with Christ, but it also blocks salvation for most folks. Doubt is truly an enemy of the Gospel.
Doubt is An Action of Not Responding
Doubt is also a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory perceptions of Truth, unable to discern between a lie and absolute Truth. It is a reactionary modality of uncertainty, lack of confidence, or disbelief about what many consider immovable doctrines. People of doubt tend to “lock up” when pressed to decide what is true. Without question, they base their beliefs on what “feels” right to them. It may also interfere with decision-making, thus causing others to lose trust in them. In the end, people of doubt stop responding to those who exude confidence.
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)
Do you remember when Jesus was walking on water?
Peter, exaggerated in his self-proclaimed beliefs about his Faith, jumps out of the boat and begins walking toward Jesus. However, he began to sink when the waves hurled up around him. At this moment, Jesus identifies Peter’s problem – Oh, you of little Faith, why did you doubt? The greatest enemy of Faith is difficult circumstances.
Yes. Pete was rebuked for lacking immovable Faith. Although, I give him credit for being the only one of the twelve to act by getting out of the boat. Honestly, that was a bold thing to do. Did Peter lack Faith? Not one bit. He was lacking in immovable Faith. His child-like Faith moved him from the boat's safety to the raging water's uncharted territory. As Peter proved, movable Faith is the easy part of believing the impossible. Satan himself gets that. Authentic believers often act upon their Faith without realizing that the enemy will soon have the Giant of Doubt visit their minds. Satan is not offended by acts of Faith. However, he is terrified by those with immovable Faith as they put their right foot forward while refusing to doubt.
Humanistic thought propagates that doubt, while uncomfortable, is absolutely essential for daily living. To that, I say, What was it that I just stepped into? Satan is not a being of doubt. When he tempted Eve, he was confident in his manipulative skills. Saved, evil, or righteous, one can function in Faith and confidence. People who doubt can easily introduce doubt into the minds of others. The madness method is as simple as creating a question in the mind that is being faced. Even though Eve affirmed God’s command, including the consequences, Satan emphasized a stronger message in twisting what God said; You will not surely die. The cow-pie that Eve stepped into redirected the Holiness of humanity. A boatload of Truth redirected by one simple lie.
Satan could not take all the credit. God created humanity with a choice system. Before imparting doubt into Eve’s mind, he must use Eve’s choices. Satan knows he is impotent without the formable will of humanity. People choose based on the “what” they have confidence in. When their confidence is shaken, a new belief can be introduced. As the Scripture states, Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. As difficult as this may sound, Faith is not Holy. Unbelievers, Satan himself, function on Faith. Faith is simply hoping or having the confidence to get what you want. The passage works both ways. It can benefit evil and righteousness.
Furthermore, Satan did not attack Eve’s Faith. However, Jesus did address Peter’s weak faith. The question, and portal to deception, comes through the irony of doubt in what the person hopes for – self-pleasure or the pleasures of God. The bottom line is people act on self-perception. Satan knew that if he could change Eve’s perception of God, he could redirect her attention onto himself. That is exactly what happened.
God spoke a few short words to Adam and Eve. Mandates actually. By the Faith He invested in the two of them, He expected immediate and long-term obedience. Once said, always obedient. This is NOT how the Giant of Doubt functions. This Giant would say it more like this.
Once said does not necessarily mean a life of obedience. You have the right and privilege to change your mind as you wish. After all, you are your own person.
Humanity’s greatest enemy is their minds. For depraved reasons, each mind believes it must be in control. The stupidity of thinking one must decide what Truth is, IS stupidity at its best. When a stupid mind is fronted with existing Truth, it searches for a self-identified perspective of Truth, which can be elusive. When authentic Truth eludes our grasp, humanity tends to reinvent itself by mixing self-identified depraved thoughts with existing Truth. It is in this that assumptions are born. If a person who lives in authentic Truth attempts to clean up their stinky thinking, every belief they have is threatened to the core. What do they do? Justify their conclusions by reducing God to serve their own depraved thoughts.
The Greek words for doubt, without a doubt, confirm uncertainty while acting confident in self. God’s reality, through His Word, confirms the connotation of doubt being unsettled, of lacking a firm conviction in what is already immovable. People who are easily moved by doubt work relentlessly to move absolute Truth. I know; it is a crazy form of irony. The Giant of Doubt functions to propagate unbelief. Unbelief refuses to consider facts preestablished by another thinker. In our case, the thoughts of God.
Doubts are inevitable for the weak and the wise. Satan is more pleased when we question authority, particularly the authoritative Word of God. It must be said that Satan doesn’t live by those rules. He is enraged when others question his authority. God is more pleased with an immediate belief through Faith. Faith believes without proof. Doubt will only believe when proof has presented itself alongside the question. Since this is subjective at best, the doubter will only believe after placing their fingers into the pierced side of Jesus – as was the case for Doubting Thomas.
People of doubt are double-minded. In one mind, they support the facts based on Jesus’ existence, sometimes following what is True about Him. The other mind is questioning all the facts related to Jesus. In other words, out of one side of their mouth, they proclaim Jesus as their Savior, while out of the other, they question the memorized logical Truths of Christ. Which side wins in the end? The doubt side. Unless an individual believes by the Faith of Christ within the believer, the Giant of Doubt will rule the heart until death parts them. The mind of Christ from within keeps the mind from BEING a double-minded person.
Doubters are often known as skeptics. Skeptics take nothing for granted – thus only believing what they have proven. As in the case of Thomas, he was an eyewitness to miracles. He saw Jesus heal the sick, walk on water, raise a dead friend from the dead, controls the winds of storms, and do many other miraculous works, yet he was a doubter. Seeing proof does not diminish the Giant of Doubt. This exposes the “lie” associated with their demise. Doubt can only be chased away through the beliefs, and mind of Christ, within the soul of an authentic believer. The self-life mind has no power or ability to fight this Giant. Not an ounce. The reason is the human mind is deeply rooted in human flesh, and nothing in our flesh is worth trusting.
Doubt always demands isolation, loneliness, and fear when self-justified evidence is absent. In their mind, they never turn away from facts. Since “facts” are self-justified by their depraved minds, the authenticity of Truth and its facts is the first to be turned away. In this, we find evidence they are truly double-minded people. In today’s culture, a double-minded person is identified as having a “split personality.” Which “person” do the masses tend to believe? The liar persona. Why? Because flesh bends itself toward lies.
The positive side to doubt is that it causes us to retreat into the indwelling mind of Jesus if the doubt creates a healthy interest IN the indwelling Life. It also can deepen our Faith once we tap into the Faith of Christ. If the believer incorporates their Faith IN Christ to that of doubting their own minds, the Faith of Christ can be released. Of course, this comes with admitting your doubts as a sin. Yes, not believing Jesus is as sinful as all humanity's other sins.
In closing, Mark Littleton communicated this,
Turn your doubts to questions.
Turn your questions to prayers.
Turn your prayer to God.
Doubt is only dangerous when not converted to questions. More importantly, the Giant of Doubt taunts your flesh to ask questions from the wrong source. Since God knows all, why not ask the One who knows all the answers? If He remains silent, trust that He has good reasons. If anyone knows that answers do not deepen Faith, it is our Lord. However, this is dormmate advice if the person praying does not have the Holy Spirit living within. In those cases, ask the question to an authentic believer who does. In the meantime, allow pain, confusion, and unanswered questions to linger. You are likely to find the Giant of Doubt steps back from blind Faith that awaits a lifetime for an answer.
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In the meantime, allow pain, confusion, and unanswered questions to linger. You are likely to find the Giant of Doubt steps back from blind Faith that awaits a lifetime for an answer.
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