If we're honest we'll admit that we have moments of doubt
maybe something happened and you had to scratch your head and ask the question
where was God in all of this or maybe you were praying about something and God just seemed to
be silent all he would have to do is just speak a word and your problem would have been resolved or
he could have done something to fix your situation it seemed to you as though God were sitting
on his hands or as intentionally dragging his feet or maybe is not even paying attention and this
has caused you to momentarily entertain doubt it's been said quote when the warm moist air of our
expectations collide with the icy cold of God's silence inevitably clouds of doubt begin to form
let me contrast for a moment doubt and unbelief because I think sometimes we confuse the two doubt
and unbelief are very different doubt is a matter of the mind we don't understand what God is doing
or why he is doing it well unbelief is a matter of the will it's when we refuse to believe God's word
and obey what he tells us to do so if you've had moments of doubt if you've had moments of
discouragement if things aren't making sense to you you're not alone you're not the only one
so what should we do with our doubts go to Jesus don't go away from Jesus go to him bring your
doubts bring your questions to the Lord that is the mark of a true believer right now we don't see
everything clearly the bible says we see through a glass darkly but then we will see face to face
or realize in that final day when we stand before God he never sat on his hands but in fact those
hands were nailed to a cross and we'll understand why he did or why he did not do what we wanted him
to do until that day we have to trust and follow so do you ever doubt do Christians ever doubt
Second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 8 and 9 in the good news translation reads this way
Paul says we are often troubled but not crushed sometimes in doubt don't know what's going on
but never in despair there are many enemies but we are never without a friend and though we
badly hurt at times we are not destroyed the point here it's possible to have some doubts but not be
defeated by them in other words it's not going to stop me from doing what God says but I'm thinking
I don't know how this is going to work out don't know how God's going to do it I don't know if
this can be overturned I don't know if have you ever had that feeling sure you do but God loves
you just the same circumstances can cause us to doubt God and by the way that's the number one
reason people often doubt God when our prayers go unanswered when a tragedy out of nowhere
suddenly strikes when we're suddenly faced with an impossible situation we're tempted to doubt God
Jesus is out on the sea of Galilee with the disciples he's asleep in the boat big storm comes
up and in Mark chapter 4 it comes up and they wake Jesus up and say Jesus don't you care if we drown
now that's a typical reaction at least internally by most of us when we get under pressure
and something unexpected happens we weren't planning we start doubting don't you care God
don't you care so how do you keep your doubts from defeating you admit them number one to God
number two learn how to doubt your doubts but rely on God's word doubt your doubts
ironically we usually do the opposite you know we doubt our beliefs and we believe our doubts
now that doesn't make sense let's learn to doubt our doubts Proverbs 3 5 and 6 one of my favorite
verses of memory trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding it'll
always lead me away from what God wants me to do or what God has said in his word always it might
I'll lean to my own understanding see well I don't know how God well it doesn't make sense to me
me either but I'm going to do it see it's not the size of your faith that makes the difference it's
what you put your little faith in that makes the difference a little faith plus a big unlimited God
equals big time results and you know doubt really is a very close relative to fear or we might
even say that it is a type of fear and I don't even think that it's so much that we doubt God
but I think a lot of times we're just it's self-doubt we might we might believe that
God can certainly do something but we're not sure he'll do it for us or we believe God does speak
to people but we don't believe that we ever hear him or we think if we get somebody else to pray
for us that God will hear them but we're not quite sure that he hears us but doubt is always sent to
war against our faith remembering that doubt is a type of fear fear is sent to war against our faith
but many times that fear comes in the form of doubt did I make the right decision I don't know
maybe I shouldn't do that well I kind of feel like I should but I don't know and we go back
and forth and back and forth and back and forth does anybody here ever get tired of indecision
you know sooner or later you just got to make a decision and try something
and hopefully it'll be right but you know what if it's not you make a mistake it's not the end
of the world at least you learn not to do that again I've learned a lot of things by
doing them wrong first and then finding out later how to do them right so maybe the next
time you're stepping out to do something and doubt comes you need to say I doubt that doubt
I believe God and I doubt my doubts you have to remember that doubt is just trying to confuse you
and steal from you well when does doubt come doubt and unbelief comes when we're waiting
you know if we prayed and got what we wanted immediately we'd never have a problem with
doubt and unbelief so why does God make us wait because our faith must be tested
to find out if it's real and genuine and it must be tested in order for it to grow
stretching causes growth and many of you are in a place in your life right now of being stretched
and many of you have very big dreams in your heart and things that you want to do
and you don't understand why God's not letting it happen well maybe you're not
ready to deal yet with the enemies that you would have to face if your dream opened up
and I know that you will not be late not one single day
at just the exact right time my breakthrough
is going to come doubt comes during times of waiting we need to learn how to trust God
let him lead us and guide us and then confidently go forward and do what we believe that he's asking
us to do but the problem is whose time is he on if he's an on-time God he's not on my time
because there's been moments that I thought he was going to come through that he didn't and whenever
I deal with unmet expectations it creates this giant of doubt what do you do when you doubt God
like when you think God's going to come through on something and he doesn't come through the way
that you wanted him to come through what do you do then when it happens in your marriage when it happens
in your finances when it happens in your career and you thought it was going to go one way and
it doesn't go the way that you wanted it to go what about when it happens in your faith listen
he never said it's going to be easy God never said life would be easy but he said I will be with you
in the midst of pain in the midst of heartache in the midst of suffering
in the midst of challenges I will be with you he never promised you an easy life
he never said you won't have any problems when you give your life to Christ
actually tells us it's going to be hard but he's going to hold our hand every step of the way
it's an important truth to know that he is with you even in your doubt even in your fear
Jesus can still show up and maybe you've wondered
if God can truly love you the way that the bible says the way that preachers stand up and say
he loves you despite all the things that you know in your own life are jacked up that are messed up
and you doubt despite hearing it week after week does God really love me in spite of me
in spite of me and what do I do with those doubts because doubt is a little bit like fear or anxiety
if you think about it it's not something that anyone like plans or wants more of in their life
in other words no one plans today I'm gonna I'm gonna be anxious between three and four o'clock
it just kind of like shows up and grabs you in the same way doubt is one of those things that that
we don't even have to attempt to do it can just grab us in a moment just like a relationship I can
doubt maybe this isn't the right person if you struggle with doubt or if you've ever struggled
with doubt you man if you read the bible you will find good and great comfort and encouragement
because all throughout it there's people who struggle with doubt every single one of Jesus's
followers struggle with doubt if Jesus or God was to appear to you tonight inside of your room if
you're someone who's like I've just got questions I've got doubts I'm kind of a skeptic by nature
if he showed up in your room tonight here's what I'm confident would not happen
Jesus stands in front of you hey it's me I'm Jesus it's true I'm God you wouldn't be like
hold on let me get my list okay let's start from the top Noah huh how did he fit the
animals on the ark that's what I want to know you'd be like oh my gosh it's real
your questions would all kind of shrink to the side you'd be like ah we'll figure that out
you're real it's true because you every person in this room you want to know him more than you
want answers to your question and so if you are a person you're wrestling with those doubts I just
want to challenge you to pray God if you're real will you reveal yourself to me I want to know you
I want answers to my questions but I want to know you more than I want answers to my questions will
you show yourself to me in an undeniable way I believe that's a prayer that he will answer