DOUBT . . . don't think about it
Can anyone deliver me from doubt? Is there really a way to do such a thing?
The answer is yes, and the anyone that can do this is you!
Your Mission Possible — DOUBT...don't think about it!
Faith comes by hearing ... hearing the Word of God. You have to hear what God speaks, His promises, His provision, in order to believe. As you anchor yourself in Him, you strengthen your stand against doubt.Check your response to situations in your life. Your response will tell you where you stand and how you are progressing in a faith walk. You will make progress as you determine to stand on the Word and refuse to allow emotion to move you. By doing this you strengthen your faith and replace thoughts that may be vulnerable to doubt.
Remember, faith is not based on feelings or experience, it is agreement with the fact of God's Word. Experience is what follows when we have faith in God's facts!
Next, consider the relentless work of the accuser of the brethren. You cannot exercise faith and dispel doubt with a conscience weighted down by accusation.
Enter – the accuser of the brethren
As is his way, your mind begins to be entertained by thoughts that are vague and yet very suggestive. You have done something wrong or you haven’t done something you should have. It is not a clear voice, nor is it clearly delineated in the Word of God.Most of us do not focus on what we are hearing, nor do we deal with it.
It is like the buzz of a fly as it swoops close then away, persistent, irritating and distracting. Did you know that flies allowed to land for just a brief time can lay eggs?Eggs lead to multiplication of flies, or for our purposes accusations. There is a strategy in all this. One thought building upon another and voila, a case built against you, tailored to fit. If you ever wonder why you feel covered in something or perhaps buried, think back to how long it has been since you took every thought captive.
Sometimes you don’t want to focus in on what you are hearing because you are afraid it is true. If that is the case, what do you do with it? You may opt to ignore it, hoping it will go away. And what if it doesn’t?
What do you fear?
Think about that, it is important! Recognizing what you fear helps to expose where you are in regard to faith. Don’t be afraid to see this, it is really a way to begin to exercise faith.Don’t like exercise? Sorry, the only way to build strength in the natural and in the spirit is through resistance exercise.
Deliverance from doubt requires that you establish the facts. With accusation one important fact is this ...
There is no good thing that dwells in you. Our righteousness (our ability to stand upright before God) is as filthy rags. God accepts us because he wraps us in Christ.ii By the way, He did that before we could do anything right or wrong, just in case you didn’t realize it. In other words, He accepted His Son’s work so we don’t have to do any work for acceptance; all we have to do is believe. So let’s start doing our part, be believing believers, okay?
Back to the accusation – Your position has to be immoveable until you have a clear direction from your conscience that you have or have not done something out of accord with it. To clarify, you will not accept the accusation; you will not repent, until you are clear you have done something that needs repentance. You maintain an absolute willingness to repent, but do so only when you know it is God.
Next, realize that your power to change is founded in Christ’s life lived through you (Romans 6-8). If you try to change without His power, you are relying on the power of your will, which is limited and will most every time, ultimately fail.
If you depend on yourself, God will let you keep trying. It leads to two things. If you fail, there is hopelessness. If you succeed, you are in danger of self-righteousness. Do you know anyone who lives in one or both of these extremes?
Exercise time:
Review the facts of what God speaks about your life situations. Spend time with God about them. Yes, exercise takes time. Time to drop the deception that everything is easy. Fast food is easy, look what happens to people who graze on that all the time!
Do you have the idea? Now, let’s begin.
List the most common areas in which you experience fear, doubt, and accusation. Set your will in line with the will of God. When doubt arises, set your tongue against it and speak out God's Word. Trust Him to live His life through you.* Learn to let Christ be your life and experience ever-increasing victory!*For a fuller understanding of Romans:6-8 read The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.
**To learn more about walking and living in the Spirit go to https://www.midwayministries.com/
Categories: Growth
Tags: spiritual direction spiritual discipline directives thinking spiritually
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