Don't Sow Seeds of Doubt
Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. Mark 11:23 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC) emphasis mine
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (New International Version, NIV)
Seeing faith work requires that our faith overcome and drive out doubt and unbelief. As we’ve mentioned in many of our posts, the Word of God is the source of faith. However, in addition to growing and exercising our faith, we must also rid ourselves of doubt and unbelief. Many times we are actually fighting against ourselves because we actually sow doubt into our own hearts.
Many times we do this in the name of “educating ourselves.” For example, let’s say that you get a dull pain in your left side that doesn’t seem to go away. What is the first thing most people do? That’s right- they go to Dr. Internet to look up their symptoms. They jump from one website to another and, before long, they have diagnosed themselves with some terrible disease- or maybe even several. Fear rises in their hearts, and they worry about what kind of medical treatment they will need and if it is curable. A small ache turns into a major medical emergency in their minds and hearts.
Then, after doing all of that, they finally think to pray to God for healing. They begin to apply the Word to their bodies and speak healing verses over themselves. They decree health and command sickness to go in Jesus’ name. Yet, the symptom lingers. They can’t figure out why they are not getting results. One big reason might be the doubt and unbelief they sowed into their own hearts by focusing on the internet and getting the word of the medical profession into their hearts more than the Word of God. Finally, they go to the doctor, only to find out it was a minor thing. They blew it out of proportion by looking to worldly sources rather than going to God and the Bible. And they made the Word of God ineffective through unbelief. Am I saying not to go to a doctor? Of course not. God may direct us to seek medical help. However, know that any source we turn to other than God can sow seeds of doubt in our hearts. And this is true in any area of life, not just our physical health.
When we feed ourselves things like the internet or social media, or the news, or any such thing, we are sowing seeds of doubt and unbelief. This competes with any of God’s Word that we’ve sown in our hearts. Recall our verse above: Mark 11:23. In order for faith to work, there can’t be any unbelief or doubt involved. Therefore, if we introduce unbelief and doubt through what we read, hear, or pay attention to, we sabotage our faith.
The next time the devil tries to send a problem your way, avoid looking things up online or going to friends with it. First of all, go to the Lord in prayer and in His Word. Get His direction, and do what He says. Stand in faith and stay in the Bible to choke out any weeds of doubt that may try to take root in your heart and grow. When we eliminate unbelief, faith can grow and flourish and produce the results we want.
