Beat the doubt

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”  James 1:6-8

When I first read that some time ago I thought, this is a very stringent  saying. Like, I doubt and that’s it? I lose it all? YOH. I thought then that it was almost impossible to receive anything from God, because I thought it was just in my nature to doubt, I mean , life had so many disappointments and experiences just kind of influenced the way I responded. It was almost like , even if I did not want to doubt, I would just doubt, because it was in my nature.

You see, God cannot tell us to do something if He knows we are going to fail. Failure to do something does not come from His hand, but rather our lack of knowledge.  It is very possible to walk  completely in faith , and beat all the doubt that rise in the midst of situations, and all we need to know about growing in the faith of God is in the Bible.

1. Purify your heart with the word

James  mentions , in James 4:8 that “ Let a double minded man purify  his heart.”  That is where it all starts. Jesus said that out of the abundance of your heart the mouth speaks,(Matthew 12:34)  and He also said to his disciples that they are purified by the Word. (John 15: 3).  As children of God we are born of the Word of God,(1 Peter 1: 23)  so it is our nature to agree with the Word of God, and not doubt it. However, we can fill our hearts with the negative things of this world, thus affecting the faith of Christ(Gal 2:20) in us that we are supposed to live by(Romans 1:17), in order to please God(Heb 11:6).

The body is made primarily of water, and it is water that purifies it. We are born of the Word, and it is the word that will purify your heart, so that you walk in complete faith.

1. Pray in the Spirit

 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” – Jude 20.  Living in faith is living by the Spirit. Paul said to the Romans, to be carnally minded is death and it does not please God.( Romans 8: 5-8) What is it to be carnal? It means to respond and react according to what you see, hear, touch, smell etc. Basically, when you base your decisions and reaction to what the world/nature/circumstances tell you. And honestly, most of doubt stems from that, the flesh. So living according to the flesh does not please, God , but living according to the Spirit(faith) pleases God (Heb 11:6). Through the Spirit, one mortifies the work of the flesh (Romans 8:13) . Praying In the Spirit edifies you(1 Cor 14:4) , builds you up in the spirit and enables you to be sensitive to the spirit thus enabling you to live by the Spirit.

Lastly, the bible says, the just SHALL live by faith. This is the method of life for the new creation in Christ, this is how life is made manifest in our everyday life. You do not live by something you use 3 hours in a day, but 24/7. In all your ways, let the Word of God take superiority, and as you do , doubt will have no place in  your heart.

God bless you