I bet you believe God is able to direct you. But do you ever doubt your ability to hear Him?
We Christ-followers know faith pleases God. Yet people of faith can be filled with doubt. At least I can. And doubt paralyzes. Here are three actions that revive my faith when doubts roll in.
1. Remember God’s promises.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB).
To trust in the Lord means to have confidence and to be secure in Him. [1] I get into trouble when I base my confidence on other things such as the following:
• My ability to hear God, instead of His ability to lead me.
• My ability to perceive clear direction, instead of His promise to direct my path.
• My understanding, instead of His wisdom.
On what is your confidence based?
2. Affirm your faith, not your fears.
Do you know the difference between “begging, doubting” prayers and prayers of faith? When I focus on God instead of my doubts, my prayers show it. Thank You Father for guiding my steps.
The word “acknowledge” means to know, learn to know, to perceive and see. [2]
This passage says the focus is not on finding the right path. It is on learning to know God in all areas of your life. Seeking to know God is different from seeking an answer.
Am I rehearsing my doubts or standing on God’s promises?
3. Get moving
I’ve found that when I step out in a direction after I’ve asked God for guidance, the next step presents itself. When doors open, I don’t always sense a nudge to walk through or walk away, but I believe God’s promise. He directs me whether I’m aware of His leading or not.
In the movie The Italian Job, Lyle, a. k. a. “Napster,” used the city’s traffic lights to route the truck carrying the gold where he wanted it to go. The driver didn’t know the red and green lights were changing just for him. He just kept moving.
When we trust God, He directs our steps for our good and His glory (Ps. 23:3). We don’t have to feel His leading to trust it. Red and green lights nudge us along the right way. If we remember God’s involved, we won’t fret so much when we hit one of life’s red lights.
When I forget to practice my faith, doubt and fears hold me hostage. Standing on God’s promises frees me to pursue my dreams.
What helps you counter doubts? Click here to comment.
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Blessings,
Deborah W. Wilson
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Photo by: Kate Ter Haar
Debbie,
This is so true. I recently had to remind myself of God’s faithfulness and HIS ability to lead us or stop us if we were doing something that wasn’t His will for us. I remembered that when I ordered my car, He stopped the order until I corrected it and got the right color. I had saved for many years for a new car and finally the day came when I had the money to buy a new one, so we placed the order. After months of waiting, the car still had not come. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what. Finally, my husband showed me a new color and I knew instantly my order was delayed because I didn’t have the right color. Sure enough we changed the color and the car was immediately available and it was in my driveway in less than 2 weeks!!!! God is so good. HE knew that I didn’t have the right color even though I didn’t know and HE stopped the order until He could show me the right color. It may seem like a silly thing, but it was HUGE to me. That was 6.5 years ago and I still love my car, especially the color!!!! My God is soooooo awesome!
Have a Victorious Day!
Marianne
I love your story, Marianne. If He cares enough to keep track of the number of hairs on our head, we should know He’s involved in the details of our lives. But how easy to forget. Thanks so much for sharing!
thank you debbie for this post. amazingly it addresses some things that i have recently struggled with…..thank you for helping me turning the focus back to where it needs to be – and what a beautiful scripture!
I can definitely relate to everything you shared – and especially where you said trusting His ability to lead me rather than my ability to hear. That alone has tripped me up numerous times in the past.