Doubt creeps in like a whisper at first. The quiet, raspy voice of the enemy, or is that my own head voice? Seems to blow in like the cold air of winter. We wonder if God is good, will He be faithful in this situation and does He even care?
The busy demands of Martha’s life tangled her own mind with doubts that left her words harsh and demanding.
“Lord, do you not care that my sister left me to serve alone?” (Luke 10:40)
The noise of this world, the responsibilities, demands and weariness that pull us under cloud the Truth at times and leave us mangled on the floor abandoned n our cloud of doubt. In a generation that scrolls screens more than we open the ancient scroll, how can we possibly regain our footing? When the subtle lies of doubt creep in and threaten to capture our hearts in their trap, where are we to turn for clarity?
Sure the Scriptures, of course. But how? Read a chapter a day to keep the devil away?
Like adding water to a pitcher full of juice, we only dilute the juice. When we add a dash of Truth to an already overflowing mind, we are left swimming in a diluted concoction of half truths.
2 Timothy 3 casts a spotlight on the last days following the resurrection of Jesus, of which we are still navigating today. Paul warns Timothy of the characteristics that define people in this era. The stroke of the brush in these first verses is a clear portrait of our day. Then the warning: “Avoid such people. For among them are those that creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions.” (2 Timothy 3:5-6)
The sins and passions mingle giving birth to doubt that keeps us from our God and His Word. We pursue the comforts that numb and the passions that stimulate. Our addictions grow and our yearning for God quiets.
Paul goes on…” always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (v7)
Learning is translated from the Greek word referring to factual learning. We fill our minds with facts. Casting wide nets over minimal information, seeking headlines and not reading the full article, gathering tidbits of info from slanted media sources without the time to research and formulate our own thoughts. Keeping us from arriving at a knowledge of the truth is the warning God, through the pen of Paul, gives. We are withheld from firsthand, intimate knowledge of THE Truth. The actual, unchanging truth which is only found in God and in His Word.
Doubt is drowning us when we let the world creep in subtly and capture us with it’s headlines and misquotes and perversions of truth.
What if we made an about face? A return to the Truth. A pause from the scrolling to pick up the scroll.
What if we slowed down, leaned in and returned to the heart of the Father and His Word of Truth?
“For the Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
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Thank you for your thoughts on doubt creeping in, insidiously.
Just stopped by from FMF #17
Thanks for reading, Heather.
Doubt can’t get into my mind,
and I hear it groan
when it tries, only to find
that there’s no-one home.
The wind, it blows from ear to ear,
letting nothing stick,
and I know rather than fear
that I’m pretty thick,
like two boards nailed fast together,
which is not an awful thing,
’cause doubt is something I can weather
as my heart takes wing
like butterfly, from bloom to bloom
where insecure can never loom.
I love this image, Andrew. Thanks for sharing!
“Doubt is drowning us when we let the world creep in subtly and capture us with it’s headlines and misquotes and perversions of truth.”
Amen.
–FMF #26
thanks for reading, Deirdre ❤️
Amen. Wonderful message today.
FMF#27
Thanks for reading, Paula. Grateful it blessed you.
Love this what if we took “a pause from the scrolling to pick up the scroll.”
Thanks for sharing.
(Visiting from #33)
grateful to bless you, Sandra! Thanks for reading!