By: Juliet Constantine

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:16)
 

Doubt - it has been his strategy from day one, one which proves successful time and again. One third of the angels in Heaven were deceived because they doubted. Eve was deceived because she doubted. In fact, if you should go through Bible Characters you will find that most of them were deceived because they doubted. They doubted God; the instructions He gave; the guidance He provides; that God can and that He will. The enemy planted the seed to doubt. He even tried it on Jesus in the temptation when he said “if you are the son of God …” That little rascal -if.

How many times do we find ourselves thinking or saying, If God wants to He will. There goes that ‘if’ word again. The use of the ‘if’ in this context is certainly different from the way the three Hebrew boys used it when they said “Our God … will deliver … but if God chooses not to …” We limit our faith in God when we are unsure of His help. Remember that all God’s promises are yes.

How can we gain the victory over doubt? Jesus met the devil with “It is written”. The Word of God was His source of help and assurance. Jesus knew that He was the Son of God. There was no question. There was no need to doubt. He knew God. We too can be victorious over doubt. Get intimately acquainted with God through His words. His promises are sure. Then, when the enemy presented doubt, we too like Jesus, can boldly say it is written!

“Above all, taking the shield of faith …”. Above everything else that you will need as protection against the enemy’s attack, you will need the Shield of Faith. What is it that will shield your faith during these attacks? The Word of God! In your daily experiences when you are bombarded with doubt on every side, recall God’s word and His past blessings on your life and use it to shield your faith, to shield yourself from these attacks.

You know, people also use the doubt strategy on each other. I read this week where even a (so-called) friend used the doubt method to ruin her friend’s love relationship. Employers, colleagues, it would seem that it is widely used by almost everyone. But you do not need to fear. When doubt presented itself, raise a standard against it because you know who God is and His will for your life.

Like Paul, we can say, “For I am persuaded that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God”. Let us choose to believe (no matter what happens) that God have our best interest at heart.

Heavenly Father, thank you for taking care of every detail of our lives. Thank you for assuring us that we only need to trust you and never doubt. Please guide our thoughts today and help that our lives will praise you today and always, we pray, in Jesus’ name.

Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)