It is time to admit that following God does not remove all of our doubts. It is time for us to accept that doubts will come and are a natural part of faith. Gideon is once again doubting. So if you are struggling with whether or not God is real and present in this world, there’s only one way to put your doubts to rest—the Bible. The Bible says that you can't please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and that a person who doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from Him (James 1:7). Change ). The serpent (Lucifer) is the father of all lies and doubts of mankind. It isn’t realistic because our Bible is one long story of people doubting. That makes doubt #6 for those counting along. It is time for us to accept that doubts will come and are a natural part of faith. God tells him to attack, but throws in a loophole: “if you are still afraid, take your servant and go listen in the enemy camp. Does he though? Doubt is not inherently a bad thing. In John 6:60, many of those who had followed Jesus turned away when He taught some hard things. So when we start doubting God’s existence, the proper response is to start with faith and then look for answers. They are not the same thing. But when he saw Christ, his doubts vanished and he immediately exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Read the topic about I want to believe in God, but I just can't on MyAnimeList, and join in the discussion on the largest online anime and manga database in the world! (I find this part particularly amusing!) Let me just describe my experience a little bit so that maybe the reader or listener will be able to handle his own doubts. ( Log Out /  God does that too. Gideon tells his men that anyone who is scared can go home. “How could I do that? ( Log Out /  Simply this: Put your faith in Christ, and keep your focus on Him as He is revealed in the pages of the Bible. I know the thoughts in my heart. You can be a full-fledged Christian without having to feel like every single matter of faith and life has been 100% absolutely settled in your life. Gideon’s response is what most of us would have responded: “God, all this bad stuff has been happening. Gideon’s 32,000-man army is now down to 300. Privacy To overcome doubt, a Christian should continually seek God through Bible study and prayer. If you want to believe in God you're eventually just going to do mental gymnastics to push the doubts to the back of your mind. Thankfully, God is greater than our doubts. That was usually done on a hill, but he was scared it would be taken so he is taking care of it in a hole in the ground. He was like 'I envy you because I would love to have faith. It’s easy to be dismissive toward those who have doubts because we really, really don’t want to have the same problems. Moses did lead his people out of slavery despite his doubt. In other words, don’t trust your feelings, but trust the facts—the fact that Christ was God in human flesh; the fact that He died on the cross for you; the fact that He rose again; the fact that He promises to save all who turn in faith to Him. And I wonder, “How can God truly love me?” And, because of these doubts, I can reject God’s love. Which brings me to this week’s message. Make sure you are committed to Jesus Christ and have given your life to Him. It’s disturbing to hear that someone who grew up in the same church as you and attended all of the same Bible studies and prayed all of the same prayers is either doubting God or thinking of leaving the faith altogether. This time, he doubts himself. Believe in Your Beliefs and Doubt Your Doubts. Over and over, I was invited to experience God. God’s indictment is on those who refuse to trust. To let our faith and trust in God outweigh the power of those doubts. All the men and women of faith that we preach every week, the ones we read about in our Bibles and hear about on the news, have doubts, but they don’t let those doubts keep them from moving and doing. The Israelites had done something really bad apparently because it tells us that they were handed over to the Midianites for 7 years. This bothers me, since I often struggle with doubt. So now Gideon is ready for battle. And I believe they can co-exist, and I believe they should co-exist. We do have an important part to play in His plan, though. The issue is not about having doubts, which usually just means we haven’t figured things out. Following Jesus isn’t a blind action, and pushing down your questions isn’t an act of faith — it’s an act of willful ignorance. Please help me from the Word of God that I may settle the salvation of my soul. in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20). You see, often our faith is based only on our emotions; sometimes we feel God is near us or we feel we believe in Christ—but other times we don’t feel that way. Abraham doubted he would have a child. Thomas still followed Jesus with all his heart despite his doubts. But not always. My doubts are not about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but whether I have truly believed in Christ Jesus. I was walking to church one day having meditated on Romans 1 where it says, “what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them . Gideon’s response? But it is also time for us to move despite our doubts. Notice what changed Thomas: It wasn’t his feelings, but the fact that Christ was alive and cared about him. Ephesians 2:1-10 gives a fantastic description of God’s work for us, and verse 8 teaches us that even faith is a gift from God. Yet, we preach faith without doubt over and over. I want you to know today the truth about great people: Great people don’t let doubt stop them from doing. The Meaning of ‘Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief’ in Mark 9:24 What the man says here can sound contradictory. Join the online community, create your anime and manga list, read reviews, explore the forums, follow news, and so much more! God does just that very thing, making the fleece so wet that it fills a bowl with water. The very first act of the serpent (Lucifer) in the Garden of Eden was to cast doubt upon God’s Word to Adam by regurgitating those infamous words, ’ Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ (Genesis 3). He tells God he will bring an offering to be sure that it is really God. ( Log Out /  Instead of judging other Christians for having questions, let’s love and help each other by … Read More: When Billy Graham Overcame Doubt Whenever they planted, the Midianites would steal it. And that was it. Home Once Gideon returns, the offering is consumed by the fire of God. What we ought to be teaching, then, is not that we shouldn’t have doubt at all (because we have all heard that one before), but how to properly handle our doubts when they arise. No. Ask yourself these questions. “You want to believe in God. It is hard for me to believe that God really and truly sees me and loves me. I know my own selfishness and pride and anger. Thomas doubted that Christ had risen. Then Gideon asks for a sign. It is okay to doubt if there is a Hell, or a literal Heaven, or if Jesus is the Christ, or if the Bible is really God's Word. The same is true with salvation. Some time later, Gideon gathers the troops (under the influence of the Holy Spirit) and prepares to take down the Midianites.   •   Topics: Faith, Jesus Christ. He gathers up his 32,000 men and prepares to head out, but God has different plans. Let it confirm or deny your beliefs. They make assumptions about me that I don't have real doubts," he explained. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. So God has the men go to drink from the water. We consciously set our doubts aside with the hope that they will eventually be resolved. Gideon had doubts from the very beginning to the very end. I want you to notice something in this story though: Gideon never did stop doubting. "One gentleman that I was doing business with, he put it this way. God loved you and you loved God. That means his army is .9% the size of his original forces. In other words, as the father did in answering Jesus, we can acknowledge that yes, we believe, but even so, there still are doubts. I believe it is time for the church to admit that we all have doubts. I don’t have to have all the answers to believe in God. It is okay to have doubts. It was like a cancer that no amount of prayer could stop. Our feelings come and go—but the facts remain the same. Notice what changed Thomas: It wasn’t his feelings, but the fact that Christ was alive and cared about him. God was going to be sure the doubt-prone Gideon knew who had won the battle for him. When you do, your faith will grow and your doubts will flee. You don’t even have to believe the Bible to open it up and read it. This story is found in the book of Judges, chapters 6 and 7. Of course we want to steer clear of this kind of doubt. Gideon though still isn’t convinced. It's hard for me to believe anything just because other people tell me I'm supposed to. But feelings are not a reliable guide to the truth! That means we will always have unanswered questions; things that cause us to doubt God and ourselves. He is taking 300 men into a battle after all, he must have great faith in God. So from here, God essentially tells Gideon that this whole problem is going to be solved because God will send Gideon to make the devastation stop. But there is a truth we always seem to forget: these men and women had doubts too. Many of our doubts stem from the same cause: we do not understand the Scriptures. In fact you can have a strong faith and still have some doubts. But alas, that is not how the story goes. At one time, it was so simple. They are questions I have asked myself many times, but I also ask other mentors in my life these very same questions. And the same can be true for you. Don't ignore it. Yep, 300. The first one says, “how will we ever outrun this bear?” The second says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.” The Midianites were running scared and sacrificing each other to stay alive. 1. You will be encouraged.” Gideon could have said, “No, no, I am sure we have victory”. Yes, perhaps some people are more inclined to be doubters. Try to remain neutral and confront all information head on. BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. As I said in my last post, we will never have every answer in life. So once Gideon gets enough courage to finally conquer the task, God depletes his army by 2/3. He will come and hold out nail scarred hands and help me in my unbelief. To let our faith and trust in God outweigh the power of those doubts. Of course, God obliges and waits for Gideon to do so. Needless to say, I have heard many messages on having faith that can move mountains. 1) Many people think doubt is the opposite of faith, but it isn’t. It is how we respond to our doubt that separates people. By Billy Graham   •   Ask God to open your mind to understand it. It's normal that you have doubts since there is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any God, particularly the God of Christianity, Judaism or Islam. All have doubts us? ” Gideon doubted God that too this story is found in the book of,... Have Jesus ’ Word: we do have an important part to play in his plan though! 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