Removing Our Doubts

Every day we have choices.  From the car we drive, to the way we spend each minute of our day, we are constantly weighing options and making decisions.  Sometimes we think things through, consider all the factors, and make a decision that we believe is the best one.  But many times we find ourselves caught in the middle of what we want, what other people may want from us, and what God has planned.

The problem that we often face is that we end up torn between what we want and what we think is "right".  And when we're torn between different desires, we end up creating doubt.  And that doubt will kill our faith faster than anything else in this world.  We might be able to stand up against criticism, we might even be able to handle disappointment and discouragement, but when our minds fill with questions and doubts, our faith is gone.

James 1:5-8 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

God will give us all the answers we want, but we can't come to him with doubt.  When we don't know what we want, of if we don't really expect God to give us what we ask for, then our faith becomes completely useless.  The greatest enemy of our faith is not the devil, but our doubts.

I really don't know the number of times I have heard people pray for something with all the right words, and sincerity in their voice, and then end their prayer with: "If it be Thy will."  And right then and there they revealed that they were not praying in faith, they were praying in doubt.

When we add that little escape clause to our prayers, we aren't asking God to do what He thinks is right.  What we are doing is placing the blame for our lack of faith, and consequently our unanswered prayers, in God's lap.  In essence we're saying, "God, here's my request, but I really don't think You want to grant me my request, so...do whatever You want."

The problem with, "God, do whatever you want," is that most of the time we don't know what He wants.  It's not that we can't know, but many times we just don't know.  We pray for someone to be healed, but wonder if it might be God's will for that person to be sick instead.  We ask for a better job, but worry that making more money might ruin us, or that maybe God wants us to be stuck in some lousy job because we'll learn something important.

It's not that God can't use every circumstance, good or bad, in our lives to teach us valuable lessons.  And God can always bring glory to His name no matter what happens.  The problem is that, too often, our prayers are nothing more than wishes that we believe will never be granted.

What hurts us most is that we believe that God does what He wants to do, no matter what we pray.  Some might look at that and say, "God is sovereign."  But to me that sounds more like God is capricious, and I refuse to believe that a loving God tells me to pray for what I want, and then ignores my prayers.

Mark 11:22-24 says, "'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered.  'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.'"

Jesus really is saying that we can move mountains with our faith.  And I know that some people read a lot into this verse, but I just look at the statements as they are recorded.  Could He have meant something else?  Maybe, but then why didn't He just say what He really meant?

So let's just assume for a minute that He really did mean what He said.  Because when we do that, we see that the only thing preventing you and me from moving mountains is if we have doubt in our hearts instead of faith in God.

If the problem is doubt, then we need to ask: Where does doubt enter into our thinking?  When we know where the doubts are, we can deal with them and get rid of them.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  This was probably one of the first verses that I memorized, but no matter how easily I could quote it, I realized that I still didn't understand what it said.  So I converted it into a simple formula that says:

Desire (things hoped for) + Expectation (substance) + Action (evidence) = Faith

In other words, faith is my desire, coupled with what I truly expect, and made evident through what I say and do.  The last part, the action, is really a result of the first two things.  When I know what I want, and fully expect to receive it, then I will say and do things that prove it.

Unfortunately, a lot of people get the formula backwards.  They think that if they say and do certain things, then God will give them what they want.  But God doesn't give us what we want based on our actions, instead He responds to our faith.  And the right actions are the result of faith, not a replacement for it.  James put it this way, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18)  In other words, the actions are the evidence that we are convinced that we have what we want, even if we don't physically see it yet.

Doubt and Our Desires

So where can doubt enter the formula?  The first place it can enter is in our desires.  When we don't know what we want, or question if our desires are good, then we have doubts and our faith breaks down.  And in order to remove the doubts from our desires, we need to know that we want the right things.  But what are the "right things"?

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."  And John 15:7-8 says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

We bring glory to God, and prove that we are Jesus' disciples, when we bear much fruit, the fruit that comes from God answering our prayers and giving us what we want.

Now I know that some of you are saying, "Wait a minute!  He is saying that we need to remain in Him and His word first."  Right, and the problem is what?

The only way we will be able really experience His love for us is if we remain in Him.  And the only way to know about His power and promises is by knowing His word.  He spoke to Joshua and said, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8)

You will never have the faith to ask God for what you want if you don't know Him and don't believe that He will answer your prayers.  As a matter of fact, you will never please God unless you can do that because Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

But realize that Jesus is NOT saying, "When you're perfect and never sin, you'll pray and get what you want."  What John 15 is saying is: Do what Hebrews 11:6 and Mark 11:22-24 tell us to do, "Have faith in God."

Some people may be thinking that there has to be a catch here somewhere, and there is.  It's in James the 4th chapter.  James 4:3 says, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."  But before you think this verse contradicts what I just said, take a look at James 4:1-2.

When we look at those verses, we see that James is writing to people who were lusting after what other people had.  They were so covetous that they were quarreling, fighting, and murdering people in order to take what they wanted.  So here's the catch: You cannot ask God to take something from someone else and give it to you.  In other words, "Thou shalt not covet."

And I always remember that God will never give me something at the expense of someone else.  When God brings blessings into our lives through other people, He always blesses the other person in the process.  So whatever we ask for cannot violate another person's God-given rights, God doesn't force people to do what we want against their will, and God will never grant our request if it means harming another person.

When we think about the illustration of the vine and branches from John 15, we realize that the branches can't do anything on their own.  Without being attached to the vine the branches will dry up and die.  The covetous people that James is writing to are clearly not attached to the vine.  They are not receiving anything from God; they are taking it from other people by force.

But when we allow God to work through us, and let our desires come from a heart that delights in God, then He will bear fruit in our lives.  Because, while the branches can't bear fruit without the vine, the other truth is that the vine can't bear fruit without the branches.  In order for God to bear fruit, to bring blessings into this world and glorify His name, He has to work through us.  He does that by giving us the desires of our heart.

God is a Creator.  And that means that He loves to create.  Just look around at nature and you will see that He is constantly creating, all day and every day.  God bears fruit in our lives by creating something through our desires.  God placed those desires in our hearts so that He could create more and bring more blessings and abundance into the world.  And when God creates more, everyone benefits.

Because there is no limit to God's abundance, there is no limit to what we can desire.  The more we remain in Him, the more His word changes our belief in what is possible in God, the more He will be able to do in our lives.  We should always pray, "God, open my eyes to Your abundance, fill my heart with Your love, and give me big dreams and great desires so that You will be glorified through my life."

Doubt and Our Expectations

The other place that doubt can enter the formula is in our expectations.  What is it that we really believe?  Maybe we have figured out what it is that we want, but we wonder if God can, and will, give it to us.  We question both His ability and His will, so we don't know what to expect, and that causes doubt.

Part of the reason for needing to remain in Him, and have His word remain in us, is that we can't base our expectations on the circumstances around us.  If David had focused on Goliath's height, sword, spear, and shield, God would not have been able to help him kill Goliath.

And David didn't use positive confessions, or try to ignore Goliath's size and weapons.  Instead he recognized that God was greater than all of that.  In 1 Samuel 17:45-47 we read, "David said to the Philistine, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give all of you into our hands.'"

David's expectation was that God would give him the victory in spite of the circumstances.  He realized that God is not limited by what we see around us.  David didn't need a crash course in sword fighting, all he needed was to trust God and use the skills he had already developed.  He knew how to use a sling, and God gave him the wisdom to kill Goliath with a smooth stone instead of a sword.

In Psalm 18 David wrote about God strengthening him, training him for battle, even giving him "hinds feet" so that he could rise above the circumstances and reach the heights where he would experience God's presence in the midst of his crises.  The whole Psalm is a lesson on how God works in our lives and changes us so that we are able to experience victory.

We often come to God asking Him for material assistance.  We might pray for God to give us a million dollars, but God won't just dump the money in our laps.  Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

The words, "exceedingly abundantly" mean super abundance.  God will do so much more than we imagine, that we need to be careful not to limit what He will do.  Because instead of giving us a million dollars, God will do for us what He did for David.  He will strengthen us and train us so that we will be able to handle money skillfully, and He will give us wisdom, ideas that we can act on and that will enable us to create wealth far beyond just a million dollars.

We have to understand that God is spirit.  He works in our lives through the power that He has placed within us.  That power is His Spirit, His very presence, in our hearts and minds.  We actually limit God when we seek specific, tangible answers like a million dollars.

The doubts enter into our expectations when we start thinking small.  Our thinking is small when we believe that God can only answer our prayers in some specific way that we can imagine.  Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, "As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything."

We come to God and ask him for results, but we don't dictate to Him how He must give them to us, when He needs to have it done by, or where those results have to come from.  Our expectation is simply: God will grant my desire in His way, His time, and by means that I may not be able to imagine right now, and my eyes are open, I am alert, looking for the signs of His answer every day.

God will often use other people, or events, to point us in the right direction.  Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."  We plan our way by knowing the direction we want to go, and then we start expecting God to direct our steps.  He will draw our attention to things that give us direction, or bring people into our lives who will help us with the right word at the right time, or who will give us material assistance.  They will do it willingly, we don't have to coerce them into doing it, and God will bless them for doing it.

We remove the doubts from our expectations by understanding how God answers our prayers.  God is infinite, and we shouldn't place limits on Him, because those limits will create areas where we will question God's ability, and desire, to give us what we ask for.

And while we're on the topic of expectations, let me clarify something that Paul wrote.  In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 he wrote, "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Paul was dealing with a thorn in his flesh, and no it wasn't some illness that he had, it was spirits working through people and constantly stirring up trouble wherever he went.  He wanted God to remove this problem, but God didn't give him the answer he was looking for.  Rather than removing the problem, God asked Paul to trust Him and rely on His grace and strength.

I've heard people apply this scripture to their lives.  Their expectation is that God will not solve the problems they are facing, but will give them the grace to endure them.  And while there may be instances when this may be the case, I would caution everyone to think about what Paul said in verse seven.  This thorn in the flesh came because Paul was blessed with so many revelations, and so much understanding, that he was in danger of not relying on God.

And we also need to understand that Paul prayed three times for God to remove this thorn.  My belief is that Paul prayed the first time, God said, "My grace is sufficient," Paul didn't like that answer so he prayed a second time.  The second time the answer was the same, so Paul prayed a third time.  When God gave Paul the same answer, an answer he didn't originally like, three times, he then understood the importance of God's answer for his life.  And he joyfully accepted it because he loved God more than anything else.

We need to remember that no answer to our prayers is NOT a "no" answer to our prayers.  Paul didn't pray once, and have nothing happen, and then assume that God said no.  But that is what most people do.  Instead Paul got a clear answer from God, but hoped that he might still be able change God's mind.  Which isn't unheard of, because there are many cases in the Bible where people prayed and God changed His mind (e.g. Exodus 32).

Our expectation is that God answers our prayers.  He does it in ways that we can't imagine or fully understand, but He will always answer.  Our faith will be strengthened when we focus on anticipating His answers.  Our minds should be filled with wonder at His wisdom and power, not questions about His methods.  He will answer us, and we should expect nothing less.

Doubt and Our Actions

James tells us, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)  Doubt doesn't enter the formula for faith in our actions, but our actions expose them.  What we say and do is evidence of what we really expect.  If we pray for God to heal us, but are trying to figure out how we're going to explain to our boss that we're sick and won't be in to work in the morning, our actions are speaking louder than our prayers.

In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus tells us how we will be able to recognize false prophets.  We will know them by their fruits; we will know them by their actions and the results that come from those actions.  It's the same with all of us.  We are constantly bearing fruit in our lives based on what is in our hearts.  The false prophets cannot hide their wicked intentions, and we can't hide what we really believe.

Our beliefs create thoughts and feelings in our minds.  Those thoughts and feelings then lead to actions, and actions lead to results, or fruit.  Anytime we want to know what we really believe, all we have to do is look at our actions and the results they are getting for us.

If our prayers are going unanswered, the reason may be that we haven't decided what we want, or we don't really expect to get it.  In the first chapter of James we are told that a person who is tossed about with doubt cannot expect to receive anything from God.  But that when we ask in faith, we will receive the wisdom we need.

Start paying attention to the thoughts that pop up in your mind when you pray.  The best way to get in touch with those thoughts is to take a sheet of paper, put a line down the middle from top to bottom, and then start writing your desire, over and over again, in the left-hand column.  Anytime a thought pops into your head as you write it, put that thought next to the desire in the right-hand column.  By doing this you will be able to uncover your doubts.  And once you have them out on paper, you will be able to confront them and overcome them through God's truth.

Remaining in His word means that we confront the lies that we believe with His truth.  This is a constant, on-going, process of finding and eliminating the doubts that are in our hearts.

Also, start listening to the words that are coming out of your mouth.  Jesus told us, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)  Our beliefs are in our hearts, and we express and affirm them through the things that we say to others and ourselves.

Like the exercise with the piece of paper, we need to become aware of the things that we say.  If we catch ourselves saying, "I prayed about it, but I really don't see how this will ever work out," what does that tell us about our expectations?  If we face a disappointment, or a problem arises, do we start saying to ourselves, "I knew this wouldn't work.  God never answers my prayers"?

Our heart is revealed to us through the trials of our faith.  We will face disappointments, and we need to rejoice when we see that our doubts are exposed when we get tired, or the answers to our prayers don't come when we wanted them.  It's good for us to go through the testing because it purifies our faith.  God wants to remove all the doubts we have, but we need to persevere in our faith, continue asking, seeking, and knocking, even if things look hopeless.

When our circumstances are at their worst, our actions must say, "God I still believe in You!"

Our actions will take care of themselves when we get the first two parts of the formula correct.  When we confront and overcome our doubts, then our words and actions will be clear evidence of our faith. 

Have Faith In God

I do want to add a word of caution.  Having faith isn't about being able to bend everything to our will.  We are to place our faith in God, not the universe or some impersonal force.  Our faith is in a God who loves us and wants us to diligently seek Him, not material blessings, or even specific answers to our prayers.  Our faith is about a relationship with the Almighty God.

Yes, we will see answers to our prayers, and yes, we will enjoy material blessings, but those are not the things we seek.  What we seek is God, His kingdom, and His righteousness.  Because when we do that, all the things will be added to that.

Through faith in God we have the power to shape the world.  I think that we forget just how powerful God is, and we don't realize just how much He loves us.  It's interesting that the verses in the third chapter of Ephesians, where Paul talks about God giving us "exceedingly abundantly", come right after he prayed and asked God to help us comprehend His love.

It is not our faith, but God who works the miracles.  But He works His miracles through us because of our faith in Him.  We are the branches, and God wants to bear much fruit.  So let us ask God to open our eyes to see Him for who He really is, and ask Him to help us seek Him with all our hearts.

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