8 reasons we fail to follow God's way: Doubt

August 29, 2016

Worship: God is on the Move by 7eventh Time Down

Anytime a heart turns from darkness to light
Anytime temptation comes, and someone stands to fight
Anytime somebody lives to serve and not be served

I know, I know, I know, I know

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
In many mighty ways
God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
On the move today

Anytime in weakness, someone falls upon their knees
Or dares to speak the truth that sets men free
Anytime the choice is made to stand upon the Word

I know, I know, I know, I know

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
In many mighty ways
God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
On the move today

I see your generation standing on the truth
In each and every day saying God is on the move
Anytime the Gospel stirs a searching souls
And someone says "send me, here I go."

I know, I know, I know, I know

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
In many mighty ways
God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
On the move today (2X)

I see your generation standing on the truth
In each and every day saying God is on the move

Songwriters

IAN ESKELIN, MIKEY HOWARD, CLIFF WILLIAMS, TONY WOOD

Published by
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Read more: 7eventh Time Down - God Is On The Move Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Video: https://youtu.be/yPB9ENSd1Xc

Witness:

This song caught my ear tonight. It struck me that in some ways it relates to this portion of Psalm 25 that I have been camping on for two months now (actually I am shocked at the time gap between journal entries). I have a way of seeing things relating to other things that might not be apparent at first. Perhaps when I get through this portion, you might be scratching your head and say “I still don’t see it” or shaking your head and saying “you really like stretching things don’t you?” Never-the-less, let me share how I see this song relating to these verses.

Anytime a person repents and believes-

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way ESV

or puts into practice that which they learned-

10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. ESV

we must not let pride rear its ugly head up in us.

We cannot boast of cleverness in repenting or pat ourselves on the back because we are following God on the path He has set for His children. We must say with humility, thanksgiving, and praise that “God is on the move” in our lives. We must declare with the Apostle Paul that it is God working in us “to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil 2:13 NIV). We must also recognize with the author of Hebrews that HE is the “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2 NIV). That it is “the word of God, which is at work in [us] who believe” (1 Thess 2:13-14 NIV).

We realize that all we have and know is given to us-

For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
1 Cor 4:7 NIV

God is on the move in our lives if we see these things in our lives. All pride is removed. We work knowing He is working in us. We boast not in ourselves but the Lord.

                           

WORD:

Ps 25:8-10  Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. NIV (1984)

Ps 25:8-10 8 The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. 10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. KJV

Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. ESV

Question: Why would we fail to follow the way that God points out to us?

Eight reasons:

1. fear

2. Pride

3. doubt (towards God)

4. ignoring

5. rebellion

6. distractions

7. presumption (of His forgiveness)

8. doubtfulness (in yourself)

This is an easy one. The truth is self-evident. Doubt in God keeps us from listening to and following God’s path. This doubt manifests itself in several different ways. The first and most blatant form is doubting in God’s truthfulness. Secondly, and perhaps more subtle - because we may not admit it – is doubting God’s wisdom. Finally, there is doubting God’s goodness. As we will see, doubt in God is very deadly.

We are introduced to doubt in God’s truthfulness very early in Scripture. In fact, it is a key component in the fall of humanity. The very first sin was committed when Adam and Eve doubted God’s truthfulness. Listen to the serpent Satan question the veracity of God when he spoke to Eve.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?Gen 3:1 KJV

I purposely quoted from the KJV because the word “hath” just seems to have that lisping serpent sound as the devil speaks it. Satan sought to create doubt in Eve’s mind and followed it with deception. Eve answered innocently:

And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"Gen 3:2-3 ESV

But the devil lied and said:

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Gen 3:4-6 ESV

Doubt is the snare Satan often uses with humans to keep them from trusting in God and following His will and way. Instead of trusting the One who created her, Eve chose to trust, and in essence, worship the creation (Romans 1:25).

Doubting God’s wisdom is a tricky thing to identify. Most Christians would be loath to admit they questioned God’s wisdom. Most of us probably don’t recognize it when we do. Looking for examples in Scripture can be just as elusive on the surface. However, whenever we question God’s actions, is not one of the elements involved in the questioning that of doubting God’s wisdom?

 When Adam and Eve doubted God’s truthfulness, perhaps they also doubted His wisdom in keeping them from eating the forbidden fruit. When Peter received from God the revelation that led to his great confession about who Jesus was the Lord commended him for it.

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Matt 16:16-18 NIV

Yet, in the verses that immediately follow, the Lord rebukes Peter for questioning the path He would take to fulfill His role as the Messiah.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Matt 16:21-23 NIV

 Was this not, in some sense, questioning God’s plan and the wisdom behind it? Peter went from hearing, “blessed are you” (v. 17) to “get behind Me, Satan” (v. 23) in one fell swoop. Great thoughts about God invite satanic deception to try to lead us into error in our thinking and to question God’s wisdom. Be forewarned! The subtle lies of the enemy can come disguised in seemingly good intentions as seen in Peter’s response to the Lord’s prediction of His imminent death and resurrection (v. 21)  

The third form of doubting that keeps us deaf to God’s instruction and blind to His guiding hand is the most prevalent doubt. It rears its ugly head in times of deep pain and suffering. Laura Story articulates these feelings in her powerful song called “Blessings.”

We doubt your goodness; we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

The words we confess, “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good,” ring hollow in our souls. Yet…

All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Songwriter: STORY, LAURA MIXON

Published by Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

And what God desires, His grace and strength will supply. God’s goodness is often misunderstood as that which only brings happiness in our lives. So when sorrow and pain intrude, we question God’s goodness or excuse Him as somehow not being in control of all things, neither is honoring to Him. We only tend to doubt when things hit close to home. Other’s suffering doesn’t necessarily cause us to doubt His goodness. Only when it strikes us, or a loved one of ours, do we face the reality of suffering and cry out “why?”

To be sure, there are those who deny His existence because of suffering in the world. For many, this is not a heartfelt reason, only an excuse not to believe in a good and holy God. Our whole belief in what determines what is good needs to be radically altered. If I may refer to Laura Story’s song again, she poses the question concerning God’s blessings, which are God’s goodness in action.

Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes

to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We need to grasp fully with faith the promise we know and say we believe.

And we know that for those who love God

all things work together for good, for those who

are called according to his purpose.

Rom 8:28 ESV

Not that all things that happen to us are considered good intrinsically, and that includes suffering. However, God works them for our good, and therefore, they are good extrinsically. That is why the Psalmist could declare:

It was good for me to be afflicted

so that I might learn your decrees.

Ps 119:71 NIV

That is why our Savior could say:

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Matt 5:4 NIV

As well as:

Blessed are those who are persecuted

because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matt 5:10 NIV

Scripture is replete with examples of God’s goodness in contexts the world sees as bad. Joseph had been betrayed by his siblings, sold into slavery, and while a slave was falsely accused of immorality and spent years in prison for it. Yet look at what he said to his brothers, the very ones who betrayed him.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Gen 50:20-21 ESV

Did Joseph ever have doubts? We don’t know, for Scripture never tells us if he did. Never-the-less I suspect that he did, that human nature being as it is, it goes without saying that he did. What is important is not the doubting but his response to those doubts.

In the beginning of this excursion into thoughts on doubt, I said doubt was very deadly. However, there is a kind of doubt that does not lead to death. I call it believing doubt. What do you mean “believing doubt”? Can you give me an example from scripture? Yes, I can. It is found in a familiar story in the Gospel of Mark.

A man had brought his son, who had been possessed by a demon and the disciples could not cast it out of him. This caused a stir among the crowd that had been following Jesus wherever he went. That crowd included the doubters who did not believe in Him and sought to stir up strife and lead others away from following our Lord. Those are the doubters that lead others with them on the path to death and destruction.

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.
Mark 9:14 NIV

When asked what they were arguing about; the father of the demon-possessed boy said:

A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
Mark 9:17-18 NIV

Notice the interchange that followed, between Jesus and the boy’s dad.

Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
 "From childhood," he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
 "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 9:21-23 NIV

Time had taken its toll on the father’s faith. In an act of desperation, he brought his son to be healed by the Lord when he had heard of the miracles that Jesus and his disciples had performed. However, when he brought his son to be healed and delivered, the disciples had failed to accomplish what he had hoped. Perhaps he also received discouraging words from the teachers of the law who told him that it was his sins that had brought about this illness, which also took its toll on his faith. We can almost see the father wringing his hands and saying to the Lord, “If you can do anything.” Here is doubt crying out for help. Jesus replies (and I think the NIV’s translation is correct here), “If you can?”. Jesus proceeds to open up the possibility for the son’s healing through faith. The father’s response that follows demonstrates believing doubt as opposed to unbelieving doubt. One leads to life and the other to death.

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:24 NIV

The Message paraphrase is apt here:

Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."
 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"
Mark 9:23-24(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

Believing doubt is wavering but clings to hope that God will answer. Believing doubt cries out for the strength to believe, and its prayer is answered. In this case, it led to the deliverance of the boy, but in other situations, it may be answered with:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."2 Cor 12:9 NIV