For sure, I tell you, a person may say to this mountain, ‘Move from here into the sea.’ And if he does not doubt, but believes that what he says will be done, it will happen. (Mark 11:23)doubt and i are old friends. i doubt myself, i doubt others, i doubt god. and yet each time i doubt it holds me back.
doubting myself causes me to stop short of my goals. it makes me feel that the things i am doing, choices i am making, words i am writing aren't good enough. it turns me into a paler form of me. if i doubt others, it shakes our relationship. it makes me act differently toward them, skeptical, hesitant. it breeds distrust. it slowly seeps into the foundation of the you and me. you see, i realized that doubt is reactionary, that it's a catalyst. it changes my actions, which changes the outcome. it alters me into someone that i don't want to be. someone who gives up.
doubting god is the same, it causes me accept failure and then put the blame on god. it allows me to quit, when god is asking me to trust him and keep going. god is telling me that if i rested in his promises, he would help me move mountains. he will get me through the tough stuff i am facing, he won't forsake me. he will give me the strength and wisdom i need as i transition back to work, sell my home, face a job change. he will take care of me. he will help me realize my potential. all he's asking for in return is a little trust, and hard work.
what are you doubting? how do those doubts effect you?
 |
| <source> |
oh could i write a book on this one...but I won't. Suffice it to say I have come to learn that doubt is often a result of fear. Fear to fail and yes fear to succeed. I have trouble reconciling the fear to succeed but it is true nonetheless. your are so right when you say it changes you and your responses to everyone and everything. i am learning..slowly to trust god and to believe that he loves me. Doubt that god has a plan and loves me was hard through the illness and death of my dad..but it was through this I have come closer..it wasn't and isn't without questions and sometimes anger.
ReplyDeleteso much for no book...
lisa,
Deletei agree about doubt being a result of fear. that fear to succeed one is tricky... it's one of those things that i don't like to admit to.
i'm always amazed at how god uses our trials as times to pull us closer. it can be hard to see when we are going through it but he uses even the crappy stuff for good, if we let him.
my prayer for you and i is that the next time we doubt we remember his promises.
love hearing your perspective!
That is profound writing Mamma Bear! Well said. Thanks.
ReplyDeletethanks for the kind words!
DeleteYour comment about not being good enough has a familiar ring to it. The amazing thing is to God we are good enough even when we are doubting, He just asks for a little drop of faith and trust. He will show us, even when we are struggling. A few years back I was in the most stressful battle of my life and an aquaintance told me "this too will pass" and it did. I learned some incredible lessons about life and myself through that. God never gave up on me, and I am grateful for that.
ReplyDeletethanks for your thoughts -- i think that the feeling of never-ending-ness contributes to doubts - things not getting resolved in the time frame we have in our heads. remembering that 'this too shall pass' is a great thing to have tucked away for times like that.
Deleteand you are good enough, by the way, in fact, you are great!
xo