Doubters...

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the LORD; he is a double-minded man, unstable, in all he does.” James 1:6-8.

I know that James did not just come in, sit down, tell me to be happy in my suffering and call me unstable! This man apparently could care less about his approval rating and he just may be shown the door.

Like you, I have faced ‘trials of many kinds’ that required a bottomless pit of prayer due to my lack of confidence in the situation. Most times, when we are in the middle of our storms it is our ‘lacking’ that drives us to our knees. The ability to be optimistic and confident when the storm is showing higher waves on the horizon isn’t easy for most of us. Confidence in our resolutions is not easily attained…

James’ face just got a little brighter with the light that just went off in my head. Doubt is present when we are asking God for a certain resolution in our storms. Every circumstance in that storm is measured against a predetermined resolution in our thought process. This measuring stick focuses on circumstances, which swells and crashes like waves in the sea. When our focus is on the One who reigns over the waves we can resolve that He can be trusted and believed for whatever resolution works to the good in our lives. This good is motivated by God’s love. When looking into the waves instead of into the face of God we will lose our footing and become unstable in our stand of faith. 'God is not honored by the kind of faith that alternate between optimism and pessimism. He does not give divine insight to such vacillating unstable men.' Believer's Bible Commentary, p. 2219.

I humbly remove my hand from the doorknob and turn back to my guest…