WHY DO YOU DOUBT GOD?

Frequently questions arise in our heart, even after a fervent prayer. People scream loud “Amen” in church but if their hearts were opened, you will find questions like how? When? Who? The question now is why do you doubt God? It will interest you to know that Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to assent to any of them. Other words you can use in place of doubt is disbelief, uncertainty, distrust etc. Many Christians acknowledge that God is great and they have seen his works from the Bible and in so many acts he carried out in the lives of others, but the fail to believe that he can do even that which seems impossible. And a large population of believers admit that yes God can do all things, but in action and prayers they assume that it’s not everything. But in (Luke 1:37), says “for with God nothing shall be impossible.

WHAT CAUSES DOUBT ?
Fear is the principal reason for doubt, once you are afraid it means you don’t trust God. In (Matthew 14:27-3) Peter a disciple of Christ saw Christ walking on water, he requested that he wants to join Christ, but on the long run he started sinking because of fear.

You may have gone through busy or challenging periods of life, a consequence of which might be that you don’t feel particularly close to God or the Church or the gospel.

There may be uncertainties and unknowns in your life and you may feel that you lack God’s direction.

You may have faced adversity, disappointment, and trials through which you’ve sought God’s help, but feel that your prayers and desires have yet to be answered.

You may feel that your previous, and possibly more simple, beliefs in God and the gospel have been challenged by new knowledge or experience.

You may recall the spiritual experiences of your youth, but now wonder if they were just hormones, emotions, or your desires at the time to conform or fit in.

You may feel that you lack tangible or empirical validation, a consistent or systematic proof of the existence of a Supreme or Divine Being.

You may feel like you don’t “fit” in the Church or naturally belong in an often somewhat homogeneous Mormon congregation.

You may have concerns about elements of early, or possibly recent, Church history.

You may question the seeming contradictions of a Church leader’s behavior, or doubt whether his/her calling to serve was, for some reason, inspired or desirable.

You may doubt the origin or authenticity of scripture or revelation.

You may have unresolved questions related to important areas of Church doctrine.

You may have been offended by someone’s actions, a member or a leader or you may have possibly been abused by someone in a position of trust.

You may have had an unexpected and unpleasant mission or temple experience.

You may have sinned or distanced yourself in ways that make it more difficult to feel that you would be worthy of God’s help and appreciate the importance of laws and commandments.

There could be many reasons behind your doubts and even several at once.

CONSEQUENCES OF DOUBT.

1. It leads to sin:

This sin of unbelief cannot be isolated to a single issue in our lives. It spills over into everything, tainting and defiling every detail of our walk.
Israel’s doubt wasn’t just limited to God’s ability to slay their enemies. Their doubt spilled over into their trust for daily provisions. They doubted God’s ability to protect their children. They doubted whether He would lead them into the Promised Land. They doubted that He was even with them. That’s why God told them, “Turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness . . . for I am not among you” (Deuteronomy 1:40, 42).

2. Unanswered prayers: In Matthew 14:27-32, we find out that Peter was already walking on the sea, but due to his doubt he began to sink, and if not for the hand of Jesus he would have died. When we doubt God, it’s a principle that we will have unanswered prayers. Mark 9:23 says, “Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes”.

3. Doubt leads to disobedience: Unbelief leads to the sin of presumption. To presume is to dare to think we know what’s right. It’s an arrogance that says, “I know the way,” and then acts on its own. Here is yet another sin that Israel committed in its unbelief. When God told them to turn back to the wilderness, they didn’t want to obey. Instead, they came to Moses and said, “Okay, we sinned. But we’ve got it figured out now. We’re ready to obey God’s command to go up against the enemy”. And they took matters into their own hands.

4. Doubt makes a believer to make costly mistakes: Many doubting believers make a tragic mistake in a significant way: When they fail in a matter of faith, they turn to the flesh. They do what they think must be done, but they proceed in their own wisdom and skill. Faith always resists acting in fear and waits for God to work. Faith is never willing to make something happen by going ahead of God.

THE SATANISM BEHIND DOUBT.
Satan represents Doubt. God did not want Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, in Genesis 3:1-5, Satan made Eve to doubt God. Satan comes to steal kill and destroy, it’s his will that we disbelief God and walk in our own wisdom, so we can fall into sin and disobedience. So whenever you feel an iota of doubt know that it’s the devil at work.

OVERCOMING DOUBT.
There are two primary ways Christians can stop doubting God. The first is reading the Bible. In order to stop doubting, trust must be built. But it is hard to trust a stranger, or even an occasional acquaintance. When salvation occurs and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in one’s heart, it is just the beginning of a lifelong journey (and beyond) of getting to know God. One thing that the Bible makes abundantly clear is that God is faithful, trustworthy, and good. As we fill our minds with the proofs of God’s power and love through history, we are better able to overcome doubt. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Bible is unique because it is God’s breath (2 Timothy 3:16), which means the words on the pages may look ordinary but they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. God’s Word even “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Bible reading encourages us (Romans 15:4), satisfies and sustains us (Matthew 4:4), and guides us through life better than any GPS (Psalm 119:105). The Bible simultaneously reveals God to us what He is like, what He loves, and what He hates. And the more a believer learns about the person of God, the more his faith will increase and the less he will doubt.

The second way Christians can stop doubting God is prayer . Prayer may be the most difficult discipline to develop in the believer’s life, but it is also the most rewarding. Our reading of Scripture should prompt our praying. In Daniel 9:2–3, we read, “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”. In other words, Daniel knew from Scripture that God was going to end Israel’s captivity, and that knowledge spurred him to pray. Why did Daniel pray for what he already knew would happen? Because Daniel knew that God uses the prayers of His people in the working out of His eternal purposes. If God is so benevolent that He would allow us such an important place in His plan for this world, surely we can trust Him to hear our prayers and answer them.
Not only does God hear our prayers, but whatever we ask in accordance with His will shall come to pass (Luke 11:9–13). In the words of Andrew Murray, “Let no delay shake our faith. Of faith it holds good: first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Each believing prayer brings a step nearer the final victory. Each believing prayer helps to ripen the fruit and bring us nearer to it; it fills up the measure of prayer and faith known to God alone; it conquers the hindrances in the unseen world; it hastens the end
Our prayers should be made daily, in a quiet place with no distractions. It’s good to keep a prayer journal. There’s no need to write down every detail of your prayers, but do write some of your petitions, and, when God answers, write that down also. It won’t be long before you have a bona fide record of how God supernaturally speaks into the lives of His children through answered prayer. This can be a tremendous help in overcoming doubt.
God doesn’t want His people to doubt Him; He wants them to be confidant in His love, watchfulness, and protection. Do not hesitate to call to Him; He has promised to answer (Jeremiah 33:3).

So we have seen it all, it’s then left for us to apply. I’ll end it with this story. A pastor wanted to build an area in his church but didn’t have enough money to complete the work and as a result flood entered into the church. He never wanted to ask his members for any pledge, he wanted someone who will give willingly for the work. One day a woman came visiting, she was rich but had no child. She saw the condition of the church and wasn’t happy. After the service she walked up to the pastor and said she wants to build the church into a better one. The pastor smiled as he asked her if she was sure, in her persistence he allowed her. After a few weeks she built the church into a building that made everyone surprised. The pastor called her into his office and simply told expect quadruplets by this time next year. She was expecting heavy prayers but it wasn’t so, she laughed heartily as she said within herself how? When? Where? She doubted his word and simply said “pastor I know God can do all things but my case is too hard, because my Fallopian tubes were removed, I have cancer of the stomach and I have past menopause. After all her reasons the pastor only said “there’s nothing too hard for God” she laughed again as she left his office. But God being true to his word, in a month her cancer was removed, her fallopian tubes restored, and she conceived. It was all like a dream to her, after 9 months she delivered a set of quadruplets, with tears of joy flowing down her cheeks she remembered that nothing is too hard for God to do. Believe and act on it today and it must surely manifest.

#unbelief,#fear#distrust#God

Contact me @ aisagbonbusuccess@gmail.com for more prayers, question and counseling.