That was the start of all that’s wrong in the world. Doubt. Doubt in God’s word. Doubt in what we know to be right. Doubt in the truth.
In Genesis 3:1 Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say you could not eat from any tree in the garden?” Do you see what he did there? First, he twisted God’s words since God had only said they couldn’t eat from that specific tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Second, he planted the tiniest seeds of doubt.
To doubt something makes it easy to justify why you aren’t doing it. From Noah Webster’s dictionary:
A fluctuation of mind respecting truth or propriety, arising from defect of knowledge or evidence; uncertainty of mind; suspense; unsettled state of opinion. To be in uncertainty, respecting the truth or fact; to be undetermined. To fill with fear.
Wow! The words that I bolded are the ones that jumped out at me. Sounds just like something Satan is more than happy to fill our minds with! No wonder it’s such a strong tool for him. Doubt is all about second guessing. And it starts with such simple and subtle words.
- Defect of knowledge – not having the facts
- Uncertainty of mind – I just can’t make up my mind about if something is right or wrong
- Unsettled – I just don’t fit in and no one cares about that
- Uncertainty – is what God says fact or fiction?
- Undetermined – I’ll never change, I’m doomed to the lot I’ve been handed by fate
- Fear – in my opinion, this is the most dangerous one of all. I can put this word in front of almost anything and it can cause me to be stopped dead in my tracks, unable to move forward; paralyzing me and chaining me to something that isn’t real.
Most of our Christian lives we focus on having a pure heart. Feelings; Emotions. We think of Christianity and our faith as something that is less than concrete and more about a feeling. I read the Bible to find answers to questions or to make me feel comforted, or feel better or feel at peace. Did you see how many times I used the word “feel”? If your faith is based on feeling, and suddenly you aren’t feeling it anymore, does that mean it isn’t real? Do you doubt the truth because you don’t have a particular feeling anymore?
That’s why our minds are such an important part of our relationship to God and His saving love. When our minds know something to be fact, then even if we don’t get the old feeling, our mind tells us it’s still true.
I think this is where so many of us get stuck – I know I did for years. I used my faith to help me feel better about a situation I found myself in. I worried when I didn’t feel anything. I wondered if I’d done something wrong and God had pulled away from me. That’s the problem with relying on feelings rather than facts. It keeps us from the truth.
God created us as people with a mind that guides everything we do. We use our minds to learn in school. We use our minds to be successful in our careers. We use our minds to help solve problem after problem we come upon most every moment of every day. Our minds tell us we need to eat and breathe. It reminds us that if we touch that stove, it’s gonna hurt. Our minds protect us from all kinds of stupidity.
If our mind guides our day to day living, why do we rely only on our hearts to live our Christian life? The Bible talks about loving God with all you have, including your mind. Jesus said,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
– Matthew 22:37
God created us with a mind AND a heart and His intent is for us to use BOTH to love Him! It takes both to get through the times when the feeling just isn’t there. It takes both, working together, to keep me on track. The peace I feel in my heart when I’m obedient with my mind is what God wants for all of us.
If I’m going to be successful at living this one life that God has given me, I have to replace the lies and seeds of doubt that Satan loves to plant in my head with the truth of God – continually, every day, for the rest of my life. It’s not a “one and done” kind of thing. The Bible talks about renewing our minds daily.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
– Romans 12:2
So, I spend every morning reading my Bible. I work on learning specific scriptures and where they are so I can recall them when I need to be reminded of what God really says, and not what the world or Satan suggests He meant by those very words.
How about you? Is it time to get your mind plugged in to God’s word so you have more tools to fight Satan’s whispers and a world that would rather we Christians sit on the sidelines, paralyzed and stuck?
