War Zone- Week 3 Tactics of the Enemy vs. Strategies of the Believer (Doubt)

Today we will be looking at another tactic of the enemy: Doubt 

Merriam Webster online dictionary defines doubt as: to call into question the truth. 

As I was studying to write this lesson, I came across a teaching on John the Baptist that opened my understanding on this topic in great depth.  I want us to look at some facts about John the Baptist and then take a close look at the moment when he expressed doubt in the Messiah-ship of Christ. 

We know from the Gospel accounts that John was chosen to be to forerunner for Christ.  God promised a priest named Zachariah that he and his elderly wife Elizabeth would have a son.  He was to live a set apart life and before he was born, he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15). 

We next hear about him at the age of approximately 30 in Matthew 3:1-2, In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert in the country of Judea. He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them! The holy nation of heaven is near.” (NLT) 

In this same chapter of Matthew, we read about Jesus going to the Jordan River to be baptized by him. John understanding who Jesus was, said he needed Jesus to baptize him rather than him baptizing Jesus.  However, he obediently baptized Jesus and immediately he heard the voice of God and saw the Holy Spirit like a dove descend upon Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17).   

Following this John began to point to Jesus as the Messiah.  John 1:35-37, The next day (the day after he had baptized Jesus), Jesus walked right past where John and two of his disciples were standing. John, gazing upon Jesus, pointed to him and prophesied, “Look! There’s God’s sacrificial Lamb! And as soon as John’s two disciples heard this, they immediately left John and began to follow a short distance behind Jesus. (TPT) (Underlined italics portion added by me for clarification.) 

However, in Matthew 11:2-3 we read that sometime later, When John the Baptist was in prison, he heard what Jesus was doing. He sent his followers. They asked, “Are You the One Who was to come, or should we look for another?” John who was filled with the spirit from the womb, who had heard the voice of God from heaven, had seen the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus, and had testified to the Messiah-ship of Christ is now sending his disciples to ask Jesus if he truly is the Messiah. 

The questions I want us to look at today are: What caused a change in John’s faith and assurance of the Messiah-ship of Christ? What caused him to doubt and question what he had been certain of only a few short months earlier? How does this apply to us today? 

The same things that impacted John’s faith and caused him to doubt impact ours today.  I want to look at three of these in this study.  

First, our circumstances. 

We know that sometime after John baptized Jesus, John was arrested and put into prison by Herod because John had spoken out against Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law, his brother Philip’s wife.   

John’s circumstances changed dramatically.  He was thrown into prison.  I am sure he had not seen that on his radar screen.  Like all Jews of that day, John had been taught the scriptures from infancy.  He undoubtedly knew the prophecies in Isaiah 9:6-7, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (KJV) 

He was also familiar with the warrior king, King David. John, like most other Jews of his day, was probably looking for a conquering Messiah.  One who would reestablish David’s throne here on earth and who would overthrow the Romans.   

What John did not understand was that man’s physical condition is not God’s first priority.  It is man’s spiritual condition which takes priority with God.  Jesus did not come to bring freedom from men, but freedom from Satan.  He did not come to establish His throne here on earth but in our hearts.   

Second, unanswered prayers.  

All of John’s life he had been praying for and believing for the coming of the Messiah.  Now he thought this Messiah he had been praying for had finally arrived. But when things got dark for John, he began to doubt that he had or would receive the promise he believed and prayed for.   

What John, like many Christians fail to understand is that, when we pray in faith, believing and standing on the Word, God has obligated Himself to answer.  However, another thing we often forget is found in Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (NLT) 

As Christians, we often think that the moment we pray, we should see the answer and that the answer should look the way we want it to look.   

“But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests. He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts, and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.”i 

Third, our misconceptions or faulty beliefs. 

Many Christians believe that God will not/ should not allow them to face suffering or trials.  They feel “entitled” to a life of ease and comfort because they are Christians.   

However, in John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (NLT) (Bold text my addition.) 

We know that God does not give bad gifts (circumstances, sickness, lack) to His people.  In fact, the opposite is true.  

James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (ESV) 

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV) 

Matthew 7:11, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (ESV) 

However, we also know that we often face suffering and trials because we live in a fallen world. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows how to use those sufferings and trials for our good.  He never wastes any opportunity to help us become more like Christ.  As we lean into the hard things we encounter in this life and ask God for wisdom and revelation about those hard things, He will teach us truths that will set us free from faulty beliefs and help us resist the natural human propensity to doubt His faithfulness and the promises found in His Word.   

Hear me on this: Doubt is not lack of faith!!!!  However, if doubt is allowed to fester and grow it can hinder and/or crush our faith.   

In John’s gospel we find a passage about Thomas’ doubt about the resurrection of Christ.   

John 20:24-29, But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.  

Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].”” (AMP) 

Jesus did not condemn Thomas for his doubt.  He met him where he was, showed him the truth (his hands and side) and reinstated Thomas’ faith.  Jesus will do the same for us today!  Doubt is not a faith death sentence but a steppingstone to deeper faith and character development in us.   As we overcome each episode of doubt (they will come because the enemy wants our faith to die) our faith will grow, and we will move to the next rung on the ladder of spiritual maturity! 

So how do we overcome doubt?   

1. Acknowledge your doubt and run to God.   

1 Peter 5:7, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, doubt, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. (Bold word added by me, but it’s truth!!!) 

2. Ask God to show you the truth that will counteract your doubt and restore your belief/faith. 

James 1:5, If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (NLT) 

Ephesians 1:16-17, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. (This is my prayer for you today!!!) 

3. Saturate yourself with the Word!!!!  Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, talk about it.... 

Psalm 1:2-3, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]. (AMP) 

4. Take every thought captive.  Refuse to dwell on doubt in the future.  When it raises its ugly head refer the enemy back to the Word.  This is what Jesus did when John’s disciples came to ask John’s question.  John knew the prophecies so Jesus, through his statement, was referring John back to the Word.  

John 11:4-6, Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”  And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.” (NLT) 

In conclusion, we must remember that doubts will come, however, they are not truth, and we can overcome them through the steps listed above.  As we read last week in Romans 8, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and nothing, not even doubt, can separate us from His love!!!!!!!  We do not have to allow our doubts to hinder and/or crush our faith!!!!!!