IN THE DAYS OF HIS POWER SERIES.

TOPIC: IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

COMPILED/EDITED BY:-
Rev. Innocent Peace-Udochukwu
President Living Fountain Ministries Int’l LIFOM

“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matt 14:31, NIV)

The truth is, there’s a spiritual virus that has been going around Christian circles for centuries.
It’s the virus of self doubt.
And if you haven’t caught it, you probably will.
We could divide the world into two kinds of people.
First would be those people who have doubted.
The second group would be those people who haven’t doubted yet but who will.
Because if you seriously contemplate your faith in Jesus Christ, then it’s almost inevitable that sooner or later you’re going to have some issues, some questions, some hesitations, some uncertainties or some doubts over one thing or another.

This is not just a Christian experience.
It is a human experience.
It is not Christians who doubt, atheists also doubt their position from time to time.
So the issue isn’t whether or not we’re going to catch this virus of doubt.
You probably will if you haven’t yet.
The issue is what do you do once you’ve got it.
How do you prevent this virus from ravaging your faith?

What can one do?

I. WHAT IS DOUBT?

There’s a lot of misconceptions of what doubt is all about.

Many people think that doubt is the opposite of faith. But it’s not.

It’s a very common misconception.

Actually the opposite of faith is unbelief.

And there’s a big difference between unbelief and doubt.

What is unbelief?

Unbelief is a willful refusal to believe.

It’s a deliberate decision to deny God.

It’s making either a conscious or subconscious decision not to have faith.

But that’s not what doubt is.

Doubt is to be indecisive or ambivalent over an issue.

It’s to be hung up between certainties and uncertainties.

For many, it’s been another year where life remained a cycle of unfulfilled prayers. However, there remains a strong commitment in believing that God with all his power will turn things around. At what point after declaring another year will be the best year of your life and that declaration again fails to come true do we begin to reflect on the results or lack there of our faith in God has produced? For most of us who subscribe to biblical principles and commit ourselves to them our lives are not reflective of the joy, peace, and prosperity the bible states is available to us.

Still waiting for your blessing
So, I ask, what is your faith in God doing for you again? Your bank account remains a consistent reminder of your financial hardship, your current career path is unfulfilling, your dream job is still a dream, but you continue to attend church and believe that God is going to do it for you.

So, if God is going to bless you and send the unexpected miracle, where is God in all of the challenges resident in your life and why does your life look the same? All the time and effort given to attending weekly bible study meetings and Sunday services that simply provide temporary relief from the day-to-day frustration and dissatisfaction you feel about your life.

And yet all that great church has not produced the “blessing” or any real sustainable results in your life.

Where are the results?
All this faith invested in God, faith he will bless you, do the impossible, and provide the financial miracle you’ve been hoping for. How much longer will you continue to pray the same prayers?
God help me…
God you gotta do it…
God please open this door for a new job…
God if this is really you then do this…

The focus of your faith
To manifest the goals and dreams you desire your faith in God alone is not enough. Your faith in God means nothing if you don’t also have faith in yourself. Self-doubt is the lead suspect in the killing of our God given gifts, dreams and creativity. Self-doubt has held captive the greatness of countless men and women for decades.

Strengthened only through the power we’ve given it, self-doubt has sustained the cycle of generational poverty (both financial and spiritual) within our communities and is at the core of our struggles to live a purposeful life. We have faith in God, but no faith in ourselves.

Faith on a one-way street
Faith is not one directional; something we give to God but he doesn’t give back to us. More than we can understand, God believes in us. However, the issue at hand is not our faith in God, the frequency of your church attendance or God’s ability to rescue you from the life challenges you’re facing. The issue is the inconsistent belief in our ability to exercise the authority God has given us to produce the life we desire. This is the reason, Jesus states on several occasions:

“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matt 14:31, NIV)
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matt 8:26, NIV)
“He replied, “Because you have so little faith.” (Matt 17:20, NIV)
In the scriptures noted above, Jesus is not talking about God’s faith in us or our faith in God. Jesus is referencing the lack of faith we have in ourselves. The primary reason your life is not reflective of your dreams and desires is directly connected to your lack of faith in yourself.

believeinSelf

God believes in you that’s why he gave you the idea, the vision, the strategy. To reiterate Jesus’s words above – “Why are you afraid and why do you doubt?” Stop standing on the sidelines of life expecting God to do it all for you.

Our faith in God can’t be solely focused on us waiting on him to do something. Faith does not mean it’s God’s responsibility. We have a responsibility in our relationship with God to do our part. As we do our part God will do his.

The bible says “Faith without works in dead” (James 2:26). Is it possible that you’re living but your faith is dead. Have you considered your lack of tangible success is the result of dead faith. God cannot bless what you don’t do; he cannot open the door if don’t have enough confidence to enter the room.

Faith in God alone will not advance your life; you must have faith in God and faith in yourself to maximize the greatness God has deposited in you. Stop placing the responsibility on God because he is waiting on you to take ownership of your future. Believe in yourself because God does, be confident in who he created you to be. Here are 4 tips to begin building faith in yourself:

Choose Greatness
Success starts from within. Your journey to success begins with you. Make the decision today that you deserve more than what your current situation is providing. Life will only give what you demand from it.
Remind yourself of God’s faith in you and his expectations for you to succeed. Rehearse the following scriptures for inspiration and confidence:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matt 17:20, NIV)
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:12-13)
Connect with people who are doers and not just talkers
Analyze your relationships because they can make or break the development of your self-improvement and self-confidence. You need to be surrounded by people who’ll promote your self-confidence not sabotage it.
Set clear and measurable goals aligned to your dreams
Sometime you can try so hard to make a way, that you end up losing your way.

I want to reemphasize the fact that even though doubt is common, even though it’s not unforgivable, it’s still very dangerous.

If you leave it unchecked it can do great damage to your faith.

When we exercise our faith, when we feed our faith with appropriate material, our faith grows deeper and when doubts come in they don’t take a foothold and they don’t grow and destroy our faith.

SHALOM!

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