In this Episode we are looking at the topic-The Power of Doubt.  
We saw in the last two Episodes that in order to enjoy an abundant and fruitful life, we
must not only plant the word of God in our lives by consistently studying, internalizing
and confessing it, but that the condition of our hearts and the way we receive the word
of God is critical to having a fruitful and blessed life.
In this Episode we are going to consider the effects on our lives when we are not fully
persuaded in our hearts of the efficacy of the word of God. In other words when there is
doubt in our hearts regarding the word of God.
The Biblical position on the issue of Doubt is stated in James Chapter 1 verses 5-8
which reads- Does any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Verse 5 of this scripture invites anyone who needs wisdom to ask God and assures that
God would grant that request. However James adds a caveat to this invitation in verse
6.  He says, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering…”
The word “wavering connotes doubting.  Infact most newer translations of the Bible
reads – “Let him ask in faith, without doubting.”
 Wavering faith has been described as an uncertain or unstable faith; a faith that wavers
in and out of confidence; a faith that is not solid; that is built on sand; and that depends
on evidence; the Thomas kind of faith.
Most times we actually want to believe God’s promises. But then, we look at the
circumstances and try to rationalize them. And when they don’t add up, doubt creeps in.
Sometimes we pray, not really believing that God would answer, but hoping that He
may.
James puts us on notice in this passage that though we have an open invitation to ask
God for our needs, if our request is sent in a doubtful state of mind, it is not likely to be
answered because doubt questions the faithfulness of God.
Let’s look again at verse 6, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that
wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
The idea of a person being tossed about and driven with the wind connotes indecision.
A person with wavering faith is unable to decide which of two or more possibilities to

choose.  He struggles within himself about whether to believe the Word of God or to
believe the circumstance.
Let me say it without being diplomatic- doubting the Word of God; questioning the Word
of God means we are not completely sure that God is telling us the truth. The indecision
that James describes in this verse is the source of doubt in the life of a Christian. When
you are not sure of a person’s integrity, you can’t help but doubt his words.
We can see from this passage, that doubting the Word of God and not being decisive
about believing Him in spite of the circumstances has consequences.
James describes a person who fluctuates between believing the Word of God and
believing the circumstances as a person who is blown about like a wave of the sea.
Recall that in our last Episode we learnt that the condition of a man’s heart is critical to
his bearing the fruits of God’s blessings. The heart of a person who doubts God and is
indecisive about trusting God cannot really be at rest. The heart of such a person would
vacillate between assurance and uncertainty about the future because he is up today
and down tomorrow.  He is tossed about in every direction so he cannot have enduring
peace.
If we don’t place 100% trust in God, we are bound to live insecure, troubled, uncertain
lives. And unfortunately, that peace that passes all understanding that God promises
His children would elude those who are not single-minded about believing the Word of
God.
James says in verse 8 that a Christian who is undecided about believing the Word of
God is a double minded man. He is a man who lives in two worlds. He believes God, yet
He does not. Many of us are this way. We speak the Word of God today. Tomorrow, we
speak the circumstance.
James also says that such a person is unstable in all his ways. This is serious. It means
that doubting the Word of God does not affect only our prayer life. It affects every area
of our lives. It makes sense that doubting God will not affect only our ability to pray but
would affect our whole life and the direction our lives go. Afterall what do we pray
about?  We pray to God about all aspects of our lives, so it follows that if we are not
placing all our trust in God, every facet of our lives would be affected. Our lives would
be unstable. The instability we experience in different areas of our lives- our spiritual
lives, our relationships, our finances, our health are often a result of our doubts about
the Word of God.
The message of James in our scripture is that we have the freedom to ask God for our
needs with complete trust on the efficacy of His Word.  However, from our knowledge
of the Bible and the experience of our everyday lives, it is apparent that people struggle
with issues of doubt and faith. Many of our Bible characters and fathers of faith
struggled with issues of doubt and faith.  Mature and experienced Christians struggle
with doubt on a daily basis. As long as we are on this earth and exist in the physical

world, we will experience doubts from the circumstances around us. The big question is
what we do with doubt. On this issue, Martin Luther said that you cannot stop a bird
from flying over your head but you can stop it from building a nest in your hair.  You
can’t stop doubtful thoughts from crossing your mind, but you can stop them from
settling in your mind and displacing the Word of God. The question then is what we do
with the doubt when it starts creeping in. This is why it is critical to saturate our minds
with the Word of God and to gradually shift our mindsets to align with the Word of God.
When the mind is saturated with the Word of God, it becomes easier to recognize the
doubt as soon as it starts creeping in and to resist it with the word of God promptly. And
this has to be by speaking out the word. You don’t resist negative thoughts by positive
thoughts. You resist negative thoughts by confessing the word of God. Such incidences
and difficult times lead us to greater faith.
So the objective here is not to gloss over serious issues of trials of our faith. We cannot
deny that there are times we do not understand why we should keep believing God
while the circumstances are screaming at us to stop believing. The objective is to
remind us that God understands everything we are experiencing and instructs us to
keep believing His Word no matter what the circumstances are saying. The objective is
to remind us that fluctuating between believing God and giving in to the circumstance
will ultimately result in unanswered prayers, cause us to lose our peace; and to end up
with a sense of unfulfilment.
As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he
that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6).”
Matthew 28: 16-17 states that when the 11 disciples saw Jesus in the mountain in
Galilee where He told them to go, they worshipped Him though some doubted. Father,
help us to keep lifting your Word up and to keep worshipping you even when the
circumstances throw up doubts in our minds because they do not make sense to us.