Oh, how I want to ditch the doubt in my life. Creating doubt is one of the best weapons keeping us from our dreams and being present.
Doubt is what started the downfall of humankind. Don’t believe me? Let’s do a quick review of Genesis. Eve was tempted by the serpent, otherwise known as the devil, with the lie that God was holding out on her. If God truly loved her, He would allow her to eat from the Tree of Life. It was this doubt in God’s good and perfect love which caused Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. This seed of doubt caused sin to enter the world, which led God to serving an eviction notice to Adam and Eve for the Garden of Eden. This is my condensed version, if you want to read the full story, here is a link Adam and Eve’s Story
We cannot allow doubt to create the downfall of our dreams. This insidious thing called doubt creeps in during the middle of the night when I can’t sleep or roars in like thunder when things are rocking for my business and I’m completely focused on moving forward. It’s this thing called doubt which is the stealer of dreams and goals. It makes me question, do I have what it takes? Am I enough to pursue this dream? Am I being present enough with my life?
I saw the way doubt wiggled its way into my son’s life at his recent wrestling tournament. My son loves to wrestle. Mom on the other hand is a mess for the all day, Saturday tournaments. Not only does my heart-break when my son loses but it breaks for all the other kids as well. At this young age, there are still tears, lots of them, when they lose.
At his last tournament, my son’s first match was with the kiddo who won the whole tournament. It was a hard-fought match against a great opponent and my son almost won. However, this loss created doubt in his abilities and the tears that mom dreads so much.
The next match he won by default, but the third match was over before it began. I saw it in my son’s eyes. The match was against the same kiddo he lost to the weekend before. He made the assumption he would lose again. And he did. In record time. More tears ensued including some from mom. This wrestling thing isn’t for the faint of heart.
We had one more match. Due to how his weight class bracket was set up, the last match of the day was for third place. If my son won, he would get a medal. If he lost, he would go home empty-handed. I realized after his quick loss and the tears not stopping, he was struggling with doubt. His mindset wasn’t right. He was deciding he would lose before he even stepped on the mat.
Then I did something, I should have done at the beginning of the tournament. I prayed. Instead of my usual prayer for him to stay safe, have fun and for not too many tears be shed by either him or mom, I changed my prayer.
My son thought I was comforting him as I placed my hand on his knee, however, I was praying for the demon of doubt to be removed from him. I asked for a change in his mindset to one of victory, rather than defeat.
When I was done with my prayer, he was called for his next match. I whispered in his ear, “You can win because you already beat this kiddo last weekend.” He looked at me with doubt still in his eyes. I continued to pray while my son’s coach talked to him before he walked on the mat. Done with his pep talk, my son approached the center of the mat with a little more confidence and his shoulders back. The result of the match? My son pinned the other wrestler in 56 seconds.
How often have I allowed doubt to keep me from doing things? More often than I care to admit. All I need to do is call out to my Creator. In James 1:6 (ESV) is says, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
When I doubt, I lack direction and lose my way. However, I don’t need to doubt. I only need to ask for the doubt to be removed. I’ve seen my prayers answered when I asked on the behalf of others.
Is there doubt in your life that needs to be removed? Has doubt kept you from God’s best for your life? Share it in the comments below so we can pray for you.