Skip to main content

The Best

 


But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

“We fear bad things, but we doubt good things.” (C.E. White, Trusting God When You’re Struggling, p. 24)

I’m not sure that C.E. White is accurate in her description, but as I read what she had to say about doubt this morning, I highlighted this quote. I like the sense of clarity it provides if it’s true. What it also tells me is that more than fear, doubt is the opposite of hope. Fear is definitely a sibling of doubt. Maybe doubt is the caterpillar and fear the butterfly.

As I consider fear and doubt, it seems to me that I am a doubter. I struggle with job hunting because I’m convinced that no one would hire me for the sort of job I want to do. I tend to think that God can’t trust me with blessings because I’ll misuse or ruin them.

Another story of my life comes to mind. I refused to wear a cross or put a “fish” on my vehicle because if anyone saw me driving even 1 mph over the speed limit for even a minute, I would dishonor God. One day, God asked me if I thought Him so weak that He couldn’t survive the humiliation I might bring Him. After that, He told me to find a cross and wear it.

I find myself wondering whether this doubt is the same idea. If I doubt, and therefore don’t seek, both He and I are protected from the embarrassment of my trusting Him for something He can’t trust me with. Just like the cross necklace, I need to take the chance on that embarrassment. So, the question is, “What is the best that can happen?

1)    I could find a job that I love. 2) I could get Soul Fire back and find no new  errors. 3) I could revise 7 scenes of Word Fire. 4) Earth Fire could make it to the shelves of 5 libraries and be read. 5) Someone's life might be changed by something I wrote. 6) My garden could grow. 7) Eta might do no damage to Florida. 8) The place where I live could remain COVID-19 free. 9) I could lose 2-3 pounds. 10) I could exercise every day and feel stronger.

What’s the best that could happen in your life?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more