TUESDAY 6TH SEPT.,2016

TOPIC: HOW TO OVERCOME DOUBT
TEXT: Matthew 21:21 “So Jesus answered and said to them, Assuredly I say to you,if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree,but also if you say to this mountain,Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done…..”

Doubt is a doorway through which satan enters your life. It causes the ‘fight of faith’ to become the ‘flight of faith’. When fear, confusion, discouragement and despair take up residence within you, they rob you of confidence, joy and peace. Is doubting a human activity ? Of course it is and it’s also satan’s ploy! ‘…whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given…’ (1 John 5:10). Your doubts reveal a lack of confidence in what God says. So how can you stop doubting? The same way you deal with other sin—by acknowledging you have a challenge and more determined to overcome it by the grace of God. Doubt cannot be conquered by reason or even resistance; it will only submit to complete relinquishment.

Trying to overcome your doubts one by one is like an alcoholic trying to reduce his or her alcohol intake one drink at a time. It doesn’t work. The solution is two-fold.
1) It starts with taking a deliberate decision with the full realization that appearances are never the ultimate reality. It then calls for a total relinquishing of your right to doubt anything God promised. It’s saying, ‘From now on,Lord, help me not to doubt you!’ It’s believing that when you surrender a thing to Him, He takes it and deals with it.
2) By faith declare, ‘Lord, I absolutely trust Your every Word!’ Will doubt come knocking again at your door? Yes, but instead of letting it in, ‘…[take] the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked’ (Ephesians 6:16). Don’t fret, wrestle, or reason with your doubts. Instead, repeat your Scriptural declaration of faith, disregard your feelings, and trust God to do what He says, and you have what you say.

MEDITATION: Psalms 118:8; 40:4

STUDY THE BIBLE
JN 12:1-26; 2CHR 14&15; PS 77