DOUBTLESS – WITHOUT
A DOUBT
Doubt is part of being HUMAN. John the Baptist had preached mightily, baptized many, been in the very presence of Jesus whom he knew to be God’s Son, and yet, sitting behind bars ( imprisoned by Herod ), he was savagely attacked by doubt. He doubted God! He even sent a couple of his followers to Jesus with this question: “Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Matthew 11:3
Doubt is NOT sin à UNBELIEF IS
A. What causes us to Doubt God?
I UNANSWERED Prayer
- Genesis 40: 14, 23
14"Only keep me in mind when it goes well with
you, and please do me a kindness
by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.
23Yet
the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Joseph had: Done nothing wrong
Told only the truth
Requested to be remembered and:
SILENCE - hopes dashed
II ISOLATION
“Doubt flourishes in the dark. It is a bit like those mushrooms that grow in damp cellars. It thrives in the cold, dank loneliness of the human spirit. In solitude, the questions seem larger, more ominous, more hopeless.”
God seems FARTHER away.
III Difficult /
Tragic CIRCUMSTANCES
All of Joseph’s life had been marked by difficult circumstances not of his own doing: disappointment, mistreatment, rejection, fear, false accusations, slavery, abandonment, imprisonment
IV UNCERTAIN and Potentially Scary Future
Genesis 41:
14 - Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he
had shaved himself and changed his
clothes, he came to Pharaoh.
B. How Should We Respond to Doubt?
I POUR
out your heart – PRAYER
Turn your doubts to questions
Turn your questions to prayers
Turn your prayers to God
II POUR over God’s Word
Hebrews 13:5
He Himself has said: “I will never desert
you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
III STAY Connected
We need encouragement, faith-building, the intermingling of spirits with fellow believers.
Hebrews 10: 24-25
24 and
let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
IV PUT Your TRUST in God
Psalm 56: 3 - When I am
afraid, I will put my trust in You.
C. What Does God do with a Trusting Heart During Doubting Days?
We are
being: ESTABLISHED
REFINED
SHAPED for service / significance
Genesis 41: 15-16
15
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that
when you hear a dream you can interpret
it." 16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable
answer."
Joseph
showed: INTEGRITY
HONESTY
Joseph
could be so humble because he had been tried and refined. There is no hurry-up
process for finding and shaping gold.
Days of doubt can be gold in the making
for the child of God.