Breaking the chain of doubt…

“But make Jesus, the Anointed One, your focus in life and ministry. For He came to earth as the descendant of David and rose from the dead, according to the revelation of the gospel that God has given me.” – 2 TIMOTHY 2:8 (TPT)

I love that the Apostle Paul says “according to the revelation of the gospel that God has given me.” This wasn’t revelation he got from the disciples; it was revelation he got from seeking God.  What revelation have you heard from God? If the only revelation you’re getting is from what the pastor is saying or some teacher on a podcast, you’re only getting half the story of what God’s wanting to tell you.

You need to have personal revelation on what God is speaking to you. When you come into contact with a situation, you want to be able to say, “I KNOW this to be true”, not “I’ve HEARD this to be true.”  This is important because it will help you stand and break any chain of doubt.

What if Paul Doubted?

It should be noted that Paul was writing Timothy from prison because of evildoers who had bad intent for him.  It got me thinking: What would have happened if Paul had felt betrayed by God that he was in prison?  What if Paul said to God, “Look…I’m doing what You told me to do. Why is this happening to me?” What if Paul started to doubt the mission God had given him?

In Acts 23:11, Jesus told Paul he would go and testify of Jesus in Rome. He had a word from God – a revelation of the Gospel – to hold onto.

People today have a revelation available – the Word of God in its fullness and completeness – and yet I think sometimes we doubt…we say, “Why is this happening to me? Why hasn’t this challenge been taken care of yet; I’m STILL waiting! Obviously, YOU’RE missing it, God, because I’ve prayed (done MY part).”  Has the doctor’s report changed God’s report about you? How about your bank account? What if someone betrays you?

No!

Paul stood strong.  Despite Paul’s circumstances, he didn’t let that change the belief he had in the mission God gave him. He could have reasoned, “I’m in prison so I obviously can’t go to Rome; it’s not going to happen.” He could have created doubt, but he chose not to.

The Greatest Old Covenant Prophet…Doubted

The person called the greatest prophet in the old covenant doubted. John the Baptist.  Here’s the man who saw Jesus from afar off and said, “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” John’s the man who actually baptized Jesus and saw the Holy Spirit come down upon Jesus like a dove.

He knew about the miracles Jesus performed and the reality of His Lordship.  He proclaimed what he knew to be true.  But then challenges came. John got arrested and thrown into prison.

“John then sent two of them to go and ask Jesus, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we continue to look for another?’” – LUKE 7:19 (MIRROR)

Things weren’t going the way John the Baptist thought it should go. See, John (and many others) through the Messiah was going to come, destroy Rome and free the Jewish people. That was their expectation. So, John sent a couple of his disciples to Jesus to convey what was essentially doubt.

Offense converts belief into doubt. John got offended that life wasn’t happening the way he thought it should go. He was consumed with self-interest and thought Jesus should be as consumed with it.

Jesus ultimately reminded John about the evidence that He was Who John originally knew Him to be, the Savior. Jesus quoted from Isaiah 35:5-6. He told him that the eyes of the blind were opened, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the sick are healed, etc. He provided evidence of Lordship, not about John’s feelings or current circumstances.

Do we wait for evidence or do we judge God faithful and not doubt?

Jesus sought to overcome John’s doubt by speaking the Word.

Breaking the Chain of Doubt

Have we ever gotten offended at God because He should have healed us by now? “I should have enough money by now.” “I should be over this addiction by now.” “You should have fixed this life-long depression by now.”

Here, we see two examples of people in similar situations. John doubted and Paul held on to the Word of God and the revelation God had given him.

What will you do? I’ll leave you with this verse from the Mirror Bible to chew on:

”It is like building a storm-proof house. So, this person dug beyond the surface layers, and continued to excavate until solid rock was found. And the foundation of the house was laid upon that rock. Then, one-day, there was a massive cloudburst; the water began to rise and a river came down in flood until it burst its banks in a torrent and broke against the house with full force. Yet, its intensity did not even shake the structure. The secret is, that this house shares the same strength of the rock, which makes it equally storm-proof.” – LUKE 6:48 (MIRROR)

Watch the entire March 6, 2021 message by CLICKING HERE.