Hebrews 11: 6, James 1:6; 2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
‘But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways’.
I love English words! Oxymorons, idioms, irony, metaphor, hyperbole, name it – I love them all! The ability to play with words excites me; hence the title ‘doubt your doubts’. So given the above categories of words, how do we classify the above title? I’m not exactly sure, but it sounds like a meta because it references the same concept (or subject) twice in different instances – as a verb and a noun.
This title sounds somewhat playful or repetitive, but it bears a great deal of meaning, or logic when you think about it. The dictionary defines the word doubt as a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. It could also mean indecision, confusion or hesitation. Doubts come to dislodge any belief we already have about a thing or place. Doubt crumbles our faith, and weakens our case. Doubt is a silent eater; it creeps in subtly, and eventually takes a foothold if left unchecked.
The devil has many gateways through which he attacks our mind – fear, worry, anxiety, are all different gateways, but the greatest tool of the devil is doubt! With doubt, the devil attacked Eve’s mind, and this brought about the downfall of man! Doubt is deadly – Many blessings have been lost through the act of doubt. It is the opposite of faith; and if we obtain EVERYTHING from God by faith, then it’s obvious we would receive NOTHING from God if we doubt.
An interesting (but critical) observation is that we unconsciously tend to rate the issue of doubt very low in our list of weaknesses (or should I say disorders). Most times you hear someone say ‘please pray for me, I’m fearful’, or’ worried’; but it’s very rare to hear someone say ‘pray for me, I’m doubting’. As a matter of fact, we sometimes do not even realize the doubt until the damage is done!
So this article presents an intriguing solution to the problem of doubt (of course coupled with prayer, and the word of God) – it is what I call ‘meta doubt’; that is ‘doubting of doubt’. You’ve probably heard of ‘metacognition’, which is thinking of your own thinking (being conscious of your thought patterns). Meta doubt shares the same concept – but in this case, it’s about doubting your doubts.
This is a simple but very powerful tool! When you doubt (verb) your doubts (noun), you cast the same thoughts (or shadow) of uncertainty, and disbelief on your doubts – this challenges the validity of the doubts, and thus render them unreliable based on the truth of God’s word.
Folks, it is time to turn the tables! Let us begin to attack this enemy (doubt) using its own weapon (or method). When the devil attacks our mind with doubt, let us flip the attack on the doubt itself!
Shalom!