21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”23 Jesus said to him, “If[d] you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Today, we are going to tackle a subject which every believer struggles with no matter how strong you may be in faith or how long you have been following God. How many times do you hear Jesus address His apostles this way, “Oh, you of little faith, why do you doubt?” During the three years public ministry of Jesus, we see massive crowds following him. There are two occasions where He fed masses of 12000-15000 people. Yet, at the time of His crucifixion, there were only four people there. Even after the resurrection, there were only 120 people in the upper room. There was plenty of reason to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, God in human flesh, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Promised One, the Coming One. And some did believe but most doubted, and it is no different today. Moses doubted, Sarai doubted, Gideon doubted, Job doubted, we can go on and on even John the Baptist doubted and he perhaps is the one who teaches us how to deal with doubt. Jesus had designated him as the greatest man who ever lived, according to Matthew 11:11. Here is a saint of God, a prophet of God, the forerunner of the Messiah, the last of the Old Testament prophets, the guy who baptized Jesus and the greatest, who is struggling with doubt. And, if he struggled with it, we ought to learn how to deal with DOUBT.
What do we mean by doubt? Well, some people say it means confusion or perplexity. But let me just give you a simple definition. Doubt is a struggle to believe. It is something that prevents us from fully accepting. It can be momentary. It can be prolonged. It can be permanent.
Why do we doubt? I reckon it is because of our expectations. In John chapter 4, we read an account of Nobel man’s son. Why did Nobel man not doubt meanwhile jews doubted? It was the Jews’ expectations that tended to create their doubt. They had a certain expectation for what Jesus should do, would do, and when He didn’t do it, they were filled with doubt. They were looking for a king who would free them from Romans, not a lamb who was going to die for them. We fall into the same trap. We have these ideas that Jesus should be healing us, taking care of all our problems, making our path smooth, keeping us away from storms, and when that does not happen, doubt creeps in. The second reason we doubt is that our focus moves from Jesus to circumstances. Think of Elijah being afraid, Moses afraid of speaking to Pharoh, Gideon doubting God. In all these cases, they looked at the difficulty rather than the power of God. We doubt today for the same reasons. Thirdly, we doubt when we don’t see a possible solution. Andrew and Philip doubted; they did not know how it was possible to feed 5000 men with five fish and few loaves. We doubt because we don’t understand how cancer can be cured, but for God healing, cancer is as easy as healing a common cold. We question how God will provide in the future, but we forget he fed six million Jews in the wilderness.
Why do we need to deal with doubt? Satan uses doubt to lead us into sin and away from God. He created uncertainty in the mind of Eve, which led to the original sin. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Once he gets you to doubt the word of God, he got you. He tried to do the same to Jesus when he tempted him. Each time he quoted scripture to create uncertainty in the mind of Jesus.
Now let’s look at why John the Baptist doubted that we might learn from it and be alert not to fall into the same trap. As you may recall, John was imprisoned by Herrod, and it was at this time he doubted. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the One or should they wait for another.
1) personal tragedy: John was in prison for a while. A reward for speaking the truth. He is sitting in the dungeon, waiting to be executed. He had lived a model life of faithfulness. He had preached repentance and walked in obedience. He certainly deserved better. You see, doubt comes from our inability to deal with adverse circumstances when we perceive ourselves as being faithful people. So when we are walking with God, and suddenly we find ourselves in unfavorable conditions, we start to doubt. Our expectation is He ought to take special care of us. And if everything doesn’t go the way it should, we begin to wonder if He cares or if He’s our Savior. So difficult circumstances cause people to doubt; the death of a child, a divorce, loss of a job, loss of a treasured friend, cancer, heart attack, you name it, car accident. But, I’ve been faithful. And, the flesh then takes those kinds of things and uses it as a wedge to drive doubt between Christ and us. That was John the Baptist. He didn’t get it. Why am I here? Why doesn’t the Messiah come and set me free?
2) peer pressure: John was influenced by popular opinion at the time. He is in prison, and Jews are questioning everything about Jesus. Once again, we go back to expectations; they had the notion He is going to be a warrior and fight the Romans and take over Israel. Jesus was not doing what everybody thought He should do. In other words, they didn’t believe He was the Messiah. They thought Messiah was going to come and take care of all their problems. Does it sound familiar? Jesus come into my life and give me health, wealth, prosperity, and take care of all my problems, and when that does not happen, doubt creeps in. Preachers who preach that sentence the hearers to a life of doubt. There is no promise that you’re going to be healthy. There is no promise that you’re going to get well, that you’re going to be healed. There’s no promise that you’re going to be wealthy. There’s no promise that your career is going to be successful. There is no such promise in the gospel until you get translated into the next life.
3) Lack of Information: John did not have all the information. He did not fully understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He did not know Jesus was going to establish Church. John did not have the book of Revelation or any of the new testaments. John didn’t have enough information to be sure. And that’s okay. If you don’t have enough information to be satisfied, then go to the one who has the information. Who’s that? The Lord.
How did John deal with doubt? In prison, doubt had crept in. His faith was wavering, and all of us can relate to this. But, the way he reacts to his doubt proves his faith. If he had no trust in Jesus, he wouldn’t go to Jesus to ask Jesus to dismiss his doubt. He is asking Jesus, whom he believes in and doubts at the same time, to resolve his doubt. And he knows that Jesus is the only one who can solve that doubt. And you do what you always need to do with doubt. You go directly to the Lord, not to somebody else. The worst thing you could do with your doubt is keeping it to yourself. He’s saying I’ve got some doubts, and I need to get an answer, and the way to get the solution is to go directly to the Lord. And in that sense, he proves his faith. If he had no faith in Jesus, he would never ask Jesus to be the one who resolves his doubts. It’s still that way. If you want to get your doubt resolved, go to the Word of God, not to any other place.
Here is what Psalmist says in Psalm 77
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
To live a victorious Christian life, we must learn to deal with our doubts. Whenever doubts arise in your mind, do what Psalmist says, remember how God has been faithful in the past, meditate on His works, Remember, He can perform a miracle, and never underestimate the power and might of God. There is nothing He can not deliver you from, and there is nothing impossible for Jesus. The only way to conquer the mountain created by doubt is through faith. Go to Jesus and He will help your Unbelief. Amen.
only savior jesus 