Three Ways to Combat Doubt

Doubt. It seems like such an innocent emotion, but doubt can create havoc in our lives. How? Because it eats at trust. Trust of those around us, trust in ourselves or our judgement and worst, trust in God. It’s one of the oldest lies in the enemy’s handbook. It started in the Garden of Eden and is still one of the most powerful weapons he uses today. He whispers doubt in our ear that God is holding out on us so we can’t trust God, we can’t trust what’s written in the Bible and we can’t trust the promises God has told us.

There are three lies that I’ve come up with which increase my doubt. I’m sure there are more, specifically designed to trip up each of us, but these are the ones which most frequent my life.

1. Doubt in God’s Word. The enemy will whisper in our ear, is that what God really meant in the Bible? He will twist the goodness and purity of God’s Word, take it out of context and use it as a weapon to create doubt. In Hebrews 4:12, (ESV), “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Word doesn’t get much more powerful than a two edged sword.

2. Doubt in God’s love. How could God love a sinner like me? Or, if God really loved us, He would answer our prayer the way we wanted. God is love. The whole Bible declares His love. John 3:16 (NIV) states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

3. Doubt in God’s plan for our lives. There is the lie that we need to control everything. We need to look out for ourselves because no one else with do it. The enemy wants us to believe we are on our own and no is there to help us, that God doesn’t have a plan for our lives, this goes against the promise in Jeremiah 29:11, (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We combat these lies by reading the truth of the Bible. The Bible doesn’t lie. The promises throughout are meant for us to cling to in our time of need and restore us in time of plenty.

I’ve seen doubt in my kids even though we’ve never given them a reason to doubt us, but it’s part of the growing and maturing process. My husband and I plan surprises for our kids. Some go awesome and others, not so much, but we take joy in planning the surprise and to see our kids’ reactions.

Sometimes our kids don’t trust the surprise. They question whether it will be a worthy surprise and if they will enjoy it. Or if it would be better to spend time with friends rather than with our family. As a parent, I’m saddened to think they believe we would plan something unfun. Okay, I admit, things don’t always go off as planned, but the stories and memories that come out of the unplanned events are the stuff of tall tales in years to come around the dinner table. As time goes on, they see we are working in their best interest. It might not always turn out perfect, but at least we are all present together growing closer as a family.

Here’s the difference with God, things always turn out perfectly according to His plan, but not always our plan. See, God has a bigger agenda than what we can see. Similar to my kids when we are planning a surprise for a day off from school, they don’t get to see the full picture of all the moving parts. We don’t get to know all of God’s moving pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of His plan this side of heaven, so we have to trust in His Word, His Love and in His Plan.

We have the best offensive plan to combat the enemy’s lies and it’s laid out in God’s Word. In James 4:7, (NKJV) it says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The enemy will flee from us as we draw closer to God and submit to His authority. While not a popular concept in today’s culture, we can trust God has the best waiting for us.

We can’t believe the lies. It keeps us from God’s best and fulfilling the dreams He’s put in our hearts. The enemy doesn’t deliver on his promises, but God always does. Are there lies you are believing? Share them in the comments below so we can support and pray for you.