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James 1:6 - Faith vs Doubt.

James 1:6 - Faith vs Doubt.

James 1:6 (NJB) But the prayer must be made with faith, and no 
trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves 
thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind.  

James 1:6 (TEV) But when you pray, you must believe and not 
doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven 
and blown about by the wind.  

James 1:6 (NLT) But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is 
in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as 
unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  

Bible Verses About Doubt or Doubting
   Opposites attract! That's what the world tells us, and yet 
when it comes to doubt, it cannot co-exist with its opposite-faith. 
Doubt cannot inhabit where faith exists. According to 2 Corinthians 
5:7 (ESV), "...we walk by faith, not by sight." God calls us to live a 
life of faith and trust--never doubt!! Disbelief and doubt come from 
fear, and fear paralyzes, restricts, and prevents us from doing what 
we need to do. God does not want us to live with any fear 
whatsoever. Like even a little bit of dirt makes water undrinkable, so one 
drop of doubt can also make our faith weak and ineffective. In 
Hebrews 11:1 (ESV), the author defines it by saying, "...faith is the 
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." He goes 
on from there to list a "hall of fame" of biblical figures who 
exemplified walking by faith. They were able to overcome doubt, and we 
should do the same. Here are some of the top Bible verses about doubt, 
as God encourages us to "walk by faith" and leave "living by sight" 
behind. 
   John 20:27 (NIV) Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your 
finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. 
Stop doubting and believe." 
   When it comes to famous Scriptures and individuals that 
struggled with doubt, one of the first people to come to mind will often 
be Thomas. Some hinted around the fact that they were struggling to 
believe, but, in spite of being a disciple of Jesus, Thomas had serious 
doubts about Jesus' resurrection, and he stated them overtly to the 
other disciples. He was not present when Jesus first appeared to the 
other disciples after his resurrection, so he did not believe them 
when they shared that they had seen Jesus. So when Jesus does finally 
appear to him, Thomas is reminded of his own words and is told to not 
only look at Jesus' wounds but to touch him as well. This is a clear 
example of Jesus himself telling Thomas, and us, not to doubt but rather 
to believe. God does not want "disbelief" to be in our vocabulary. 
He wants us to have faith and believe in Him and in what He tells 
us, whether we can "see" it or not. 
   Matthew 14:31 (ESV) Jesus immediately reached out his hand 
and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did 
you doubt?" 
   Another important Biblical character that can teach us a lot 
about doubt and faith is Peter. Matthew 14:31 is the famous passage 
where Peter gets out of the boat in faith and obedience to Jesus and 
actually walks on water. However, after only a few steps, he takes his 
eyes off of Jesus, and begins looking at the high waves (and his 
circumstances) around him, and fear and doubt rush in to overwhelm him. He then 
starts to sink and drown, and he calls out for Jesus to save him. This 
verse is Jesus' response to him for doubting and also his response to 
all of us when we doubt Him as well. Personally, I have seen God 
help me through some very difficult times, and then some new 
challenge crops up and I am filled with fear and doubt once again. Why do 
I do this? Why do I doubt my Lord and Savior when He has always 
been so faithful? This is the eternal question that God asks all of 
us. Why do we doubt him, when He is always so faithful? 
   James 1:6 (ESV) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and 
tossed by the wind. 
   The book of James carries a strong message about faith, and 
it even begins by stating, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you 
meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your 
faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2-3). The apostle goes on to 
say that when we ask for wisdom from the Lord to handle these 
trials, we should not doubt that we will receive it. Disbelief and 
doubting are synonymous, and they cause us to be tossed around, aimlessly 
wandering, struggling, wondering, fearful, uncertain and unsure. Faith in 
God, however, brings hope, life, purpose and worthy goals into our 
lives. The enemy wants us to live hopeless, fearful lives, but God came 
to give us "life and life more abundantly" (John 10:10). A life of 
faith is a life without doubt. Where God reigns, doubt disappears and 
faith rules. Like a ship on a steady course towards its home port, so 
faith leads us straight to our eternal home. 
   Doubt and faith are opposite concepts, and they cannot 
co-exist in the Kingdom of God. These opposites repel each other, and 
they should not be lived in tandem. We have all felt like the father 
Jesus was talking to in Mark 9:24 who cried out, "I believe; help my 
unbelief!" There are points in our life when our faith is strong, and we 
believe without a doubt. But then we also have times where doubt creeps 
in, and we cry out to the Lord to "help our unbelief." The good news 
is that God answers prayer, and He wants us to have faith. In fact, 
He commands us to "not doubt, but believe," because He knows how 
much more abundant our lives will be when we are full of faith... It is 
clear that God wants us to avoid them and instead hold on to the 
opposite--FAITH!! What will you choose? Will you walk by sight or will you walk 
faith? by Karla Hawkins (see complete article at: 
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2014/10/02/top-7-bible-verses-about-doubt-or-doubting/#ixzz3IcFc20fX) 

DOUBT NEEDS TO BE CHALLENGED

   Whatever we do, we must not let any lurking doubts go 
unchallenged. Pascal said: "Doubt is an unhappy state, but there is an 
indispensable duty to seek when we are in doubt, and thus anyone who doubts 
and does not seek is at once unhappy and in the wrong."  
   How do we go about resolving doubts? One way is to bring them 
to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to help us overcome them. If 
prayer does not dissolve them, apply the tactic which Nehemiah adopted: 
"So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard" (Neh 4:9). Take a 
verse of Scripture that is the opposite of your doubt and hold it in 
the center of your mind, repeating it to yourself many times 
throughout the day. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones once said: "Have you realized 
that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are 
listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? We must talk to 
ourselves instead of allowing ourselves to talk to us!"  
   In listening to our doubts instead of talking to them, we 
fall prey to the same temptation that caught Adam and Eve off guard 
in the garden of Eden. The order of creation was stood on its head 
when the first human pair allowed themselves to be dictated to by the 
animal world (in the form of the serpent), when, in fact, they had been 
put in a position to dictate to it.  
   Don't let your doubts dictate to you. Turn the tables and 
dictate to them. Talk to them with words from the Word of God.  
   Father, help me never to be nonplussed, for in You there are 
ways to overcome every problem. Drive the truth I have learned today 
deeply into my spirit so that I may apply it whenever I am faced with 
doubt. In Jesus' name. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible with Selwyn 
Hughes devotional re Heb. 4:12] 

EXAMPLE

   I woke up in one of those dreadful moods, already prejudiced 
against the day ahead. I spoke to the Lord about it - asked Him to 
jump-start my spirit and help my attitude shift. Nothing. I still felt like 
the day was out to get me.  
   Sometime later, I decided to pull out some index cards with 
Scripture verses on them, words that God had used to speak encouragement 
to me at critical moments in various situations. I read through 
each one, remembering the power I felt when they impacted me at those 
moments. Little by little, my attitude shifted. The day wasn't out to get 
me; I was sent into the day by a powerful God who had already 
ordained my steps. Whatever happened on this day, I would overcome.  
   The Spirit of God is always with us and in us, but sometimes 
we can sense His practical Presence only in the Word He inspired. 
God is present when we read His Word and affirm its truth, when we 
let the living power of the Word sink into us and shape us. It's 
entirely possible to read and study the Bible without experiencing this 
living power - plenty of Pharisees, philosophers, and skeptics have 
done so throughout history, and so have we at times. But when the 
Word lands in the fertile ground of faith in our hearts, things 
change. God goes to work. He inhabits the words He has spoken, and they 
take on a vitality that transforms.  
   If you're in need of God's Presence, you can always find it 
one way or another in His revelation. Don't just read His words; let 
them speak. Let them change your day - and your life.  
   Lord, I need to experience the living power of Your Word. 
Whenever I thirst for You, lead me to the verses that reveal Your voice 
for that moment. Use them to shape me from within. [The One Year 
Experiencing God's Presence Devotional by Chris Tiegreen re Heb. 4:12] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

The faith of the disciples in the storm with Jesus was 
diminished by doubt, and so they were men of "little faith:" Faith is vital 
to the Christian life, and when it is weakened by doubt, the 
Christian's spiritual vitality is sapped. A shallow faith can give a false 
sense of security. The disciples believed they were safe as long as 
Jesus was awake. They were not appropriating safety in Jesus at all 
times. In reality, doubt leaves one with no real trust in Christ. 
Seeing his serenity in sleep amid the threat of disaster, they doubted 
his concern for them. When adversity threatens, doubt nullifies his 
promises and his assurance. A doubting faith enables one to meet 
difficulty but is not sufficient to carry one through to the end. The 
disciples' faith got them involved with Jesus, but their faith wavered in 
the storm. It is at the critical moment that "little faith" plays 
out. By proper testing and exercise "little faith" will grow like the 
mustard seed to greater stature. Because every child of God is able to 
defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our 
faith. 1 John 5.4 [Daily Devotional Bible re Mat.8:26] 

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