Doubts Are Normal
When John, who was in prison, heard
about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the
one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” – Matthew 11:2-3
There are moments of clarity, times when you know what God has called you to do and
you step out boldly in faith. Then real life settles in and the doubts start
playing with your mind.
Did you really hear God correctly? Is it truly the
Holy Spirit leading you or is it Satan telling you what you want to hear? Are these
obstacles just another hurdle to overcome or are they sent by God to stop what
He hasn’t ordained?
Don’t you wish you could have a clear reading of
exactly what God wants you to do? I’ve often joked that I wish God would give
me MapQuest directions for my life journey. I want to do His will in all things
but sometimes it sure is difficult to drown out the voices of the world and
concentrate on what He is telling me.
It consoles me to know that John the Baptist had
doubts too. He knew who Jesus was.
Listen to this:
The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!” – John 1:29
John was confident that Jesus was the Messiah. At
least, until John found himself sitting in a jail cell. There’s something about
being alone with your thoughts that lets the worry seep in. There’s something
about idle time that causes you to question what you thought you knew.
John was fortunate that he could send his disciples to
Jesus and ask for confirmation. Jesus didn’t brush off the questions. He didn’t
seem offended by John’s sudden doubts. Instead, Jesus provided the reassurance
John needed to continue his journey toward death.
So how do we get confirmation for our own journey? Ask
the Savior. If you truly seek God’s voice, the Holy Spirit will tell you what
to do.
The problems come when the world tells us something
different. There’s always someone around to say you can’t do what God has
called you to do. There’s always someone to point out all the difficulties that
lie in your path. There’s always someone to doubt your calling.
But at the end of the day we aren’t meant to follow
the world. We are meant to follow Christ. We are to do God’s will, recognizing
that He is the God of miracles. He doesn’t call us to something without
intending to make it happen.
That doesn’t mean it will be instant. There is
frequently a season of waiting. That’s hard. We are an instant people but God sometimes
has lessons to teach us as we wait. Ask what the lesson is. Do all you can
where you are. Trust that God didn’t call you forward to abandon you before the
end.
Everyone has doubts sometimes. The key is to seek
reassurance from the One who knows all things. Don’t give up. You may not see
the path but trust that it’s there. God knows the way. Your job is to follow
Him one step at a time.
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