Overcoming Doubt

No one is immune to doubt. It can and does happen to us all. You’ve just got to know how to handle it when it comes.   Let’s look at the life of John the Baptist for answers.

Jesus said this about John the Baptist,

“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11

John was greater in the sight of Jesus than Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, or any Old Testament character you can name. Yet John doubted the most important thing of all by questioning whether Jesus was really the Christ.

While John the Baptist was in prison he became so discouraged that he asked two of his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him if He really was the Christ.  This amazing man of faith was lost in doubt and unbelief.

Think about who John was. He was separated unto God and filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still in the womb. Luke 1:15 

It is believed he lived in the desert near the Dead Sea with the Essens, the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were a people who were super-legalistic who practiced many rituals of self denial. He certainly had not lived what we would call an easy life. He was described in the Bible as wear animal skins and eating locust.  John was separated and focused on his purpose.

His entire life was committed to preparing the way for the Christ. John is the one who saw Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29.  John shared the truth of God with thousands of people from many nations declaring, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2

John would see the Spirit of God descending upon the Messiah in bodily shape as a dove. That came to pass when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

There are many scriptures that tell us John had zero doubt.

“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” in      John 1:34. In Luke 3:16 he said, “but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And in John 3:30 he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Jesus responded to John’s disbelief and doubt….”look at all that has happened….see the truth of who I am and believe!”

This is the same thing Jesus is saying to you…look at all I have done and what is written in the scriptures and have faith.

Don’t let the devil lie to you and blind you from truth…dig in, for “It is written” those powerful words that Jesus spoke to Satan.  Those are our words now….

Don’t be fooled by the world…our need for something tangible, something emotional we can feel.  Overcoming doubt is not about feeling better; it’s about getting back into faith that only comes from the Word of God.

Romans 10:17 says “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

You must stand strong, immerse yourself in God’s Word and know that this battle is won on a spiritual level. 

In 2 Peter 1:12-15 Peter writes Jesus will always bring you back to remembering who  He is through His Word. He left us this Word because He knew we would face doubt in our flesh.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 spells it out clearly…”For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

The Scriptures are more sure and faith building and doubt destroying than if you and I were witness to seeing the risen Christ or hearing an audible voice from heaven! Why?  Because the Truth of God Word is always with us, to study, meditate and pray through.

The only sure way to overcome doubt is to place your faith in the Word of God and depend on that more sure word of prophecy. Don’t allow your five senses to dominate your thinking. You must come to a place to where God’s Word is more real to you than anything you can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. When you’re in doubt, refer back to the Word of God just the way Jesus told John the Baptist to do. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Facts say you are here, sitting in this chair, struggling because of your decisions, wrong thinking, SIN….truth is God is right beside you waiting for you to activate your faith by standing on His Word which activates His ability to bring you the deliverance you so desperately desire.

Blessings, Sister Laurie