Key scripture- “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).

Have you noticed that doubts often come into your life like termites into a house? And once doubts are in, they eats away at your faith with termite-like thoughts?

Usually, we can hold up pretty well under this attack. But occasionally, when a strong gale comes along—a sudden, intense blast—we discover we cannot cope. Our house begins to lean. For some people it completely collapses. It is during these stormy times, during the dark days and nights of tragedy and calamity, that we begin to feel and see the destructive effects of our doubts—running like stress fractures through the structure of our lives.

Pastor Charles “Chuck” Swindol, says that there are three times when the intensity of doubts reach maximum proportions in our lives.

One such time is when things I believe should never happen, occur. There are times when my loving, gracious, merciful, kind, good, sovereign God surprises me by saying yes to something I was convinced He would say no to. When bad things happen to good people.

Pastor, Swindol tells of the time that he received a letter from a woman who heard a talk he had given entitled “Riding Out the Storm.” Little did she know how meaningful it would be to her. Just as she was entering into the truth of that message, she arrived at home to discover that her young, recently married daughter had been brutally murdered.

Why did God say yes to that? Why did that bad thing happen to that good person? The effect of those doubt termites within our soul is great. They eat away at us, and doubt gets a hold of our thoughts and won’t let go.

Doubts also increase when things I believe should happen, never occur (the other side of the coin). When I expected God to say “Yes” but He said “No”. Numerous parents of young men and women have said good-bye and sent their children away to war, convinced God would bring them home again. But sometimes He says “No”.

Author and speaker, Joni Eareckson Tada (and others like her) who was paralyzed at the age of 17 in a diving accident, trusted confidently for awhile that the paralysis would go away—that God will say, “Yes, I’ll get you through this. I’ll teach you some deep lessons, and then I will use you with full health in days to come as I heal you completely.” But God ultimately says “No”. When we expect Him to say “Yes” and He says “No”, doubts multiply.

The third situation in which doubts grow takes place when things that I believe should happen now, occur much, much, much, much later. Of all the doubts which creep into our soul perhaps few are more devastating than those that happen when we are told by God, in effect. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait . . . wait . . . wait!” All of us have wrestled greatly with His timing.

If you feel like you are hanging on by your fingernails as you slide down the hill. You need to quit focusing on your circumstances and focus on God and His promises. You need to take your thoughts – your doubts – captive and put them under the obedience of Jesus, and you do that by replacing them with God’s Word and what He says about your situation. You need to Keep Persevering! Hang tough! Be strong! Don’t quit! Be courageous! Even when God says “No”, and you expected “Yes”. Even when He says “Yes”, and you anticipated “No”. And especially when He says to “Wait”, and you expected it “Now”.

If you’re in that painful space right now, my word for you is: PERSEVERE! HOPE IN GOD! DON’T GIVE UP, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT IS – THIS IS NOT THE END.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, when I am weak I know that You will strengthen me. You will hold me up with Your Righteous Right Hand. Father, I need to feel Your Presence right now. I will not give up, I will not shrink back, I will not be afraid, I will be courageous. I will not let doubt get a hold of my thoughts, instead I will take every thought captive and put it under the obedience of Christ. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who strengthens me and I will come out of this fire not burned and not even smelling like smoke, because You have me and You will never let me go or forsake me or abandon me. I am courageous no matter what I am facing because you are faithful, You are able and You never give up on me. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

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