By Carol Round – “Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”— Joshua 1:9 (TLB).
At some point in our Christian walk, I imagine most of us have doubted God and His love for us. Some of us may doubt, after years of praying, that He will ever answer us.
However, we’re in good company. Remember Abraham and Sarah, who doubted God could give them a son in their old age? In fact, Sarah even laughed in disbelief. But God had a better plan, and everything is in His timing.
God has answered many of my prayers. But when time passes and a prayer, I’ve been hoping He would answer, drags on for years and years, I wonder about the delay, even when I hear the Holy Spirit whisper, “In my timing,” or “Not yet.”
When We Have Doubts
God knew we would have doubts. That’s why scripture is a great reminder to help us combat our unbelief. When you have doubts, remember the following scriptural truths:
John 3:16 is probably the most powerful reminder of God’s love for us. “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” (NIV). No other scripture is as compelling as this one. That God gave us His only Son so that if we believe, we shall not perish, but have eternal life, is a cornerstone reminder of how much He loves us.
Another scripture we can cling to when we have doubts is 1 John 3:1a. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are” (NIV). Early in my walk with the Lord, I saw God as a stern disciplinarian. When I first read this scripture, my relationship with Him changed, and I began to call Him Abba Father.
Trusting Our Abba Father
As a child, I was afraid of the dark. While I can’t recall why, I remember waking my mother up during the night and asking for a drink of water. I wasn’t thirsty. I just needed reassurance of her presence.
Our relationship with the Lord is a reassuring one. Pastor and professor Victor Raymond Edman once said, “Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.”
Regardless of our circumstances or how we feel, we must cling to God’s unchanging character. Remember that He is good, He loves us, He is with us. He knows what we are going through, and He cares. God has a good plan for each of us. Never doubt that.
I always love hearing from my readers. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with your thoughts or visit my blog for more inspiration at www.carolaround.com. If you need a speaker or workshop leader, contact me at the above e-mail address or through my website. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash
