Doubt?

James 1 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 From: Ya‘akov, a slave of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah

To: The Twelve Tribes in the Diaspora:

Shalom!

2 Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; 3 for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. 4 But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in trust, doubting nothing; for the doubter is like a wave in the sea being tossed and driven by the wind. 7 Indeed that person should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 because he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways.

Seriously, Regard it as joy? I don't know about you but it is so hard to be joyful when you are being persecuted for your faith. I once had a dear friend who was living a sinful lifestyle, away from her husband, and she told me that the Lord had given her a new man who is wonderful. I met with her to have dinner and it did not end well. If this friend would have left the Lord out of this, I honestly probably would have let it be. However, she was claiming to be a Christian and saying that the Lord was giving her a new man (all the while her husband was at home still). I asked her a very simple question: Did the Lord really give you another man while you still have a husband at home? She was infuriated and called me self-righteous, judgmental Christian. 

In this moment, I did not regard it a joy because as a Christian we must confront sin in the church. She was calling herself a Christian and openly going against the Lord. She was committing adultery in the name of the Lord. I had to not only as a friend but a Christian to confront this evil. If we do not address sin, then it creeps into the churches and eventually into our homes. 

We must have faith/trust in the Lord that when we are persecuted and called many names and publicly humiliated,  that God will redeem us and those we are trying to help. At that dinner, the friend got very loud, screaming at me and stormed out. I will never forget this little 6 year old girl who walked up to me and asked me what I did to that person to make them so mad. It was an awful experience. I still continued to pray for this friend, I knew it wasn't me that she was truly mad at but herself. Years later, she reached out to me divorced from her husband, with a child and several abusive relationships later, she told me that she was so sorry. She wishes it could have been different and she could now see that I was trying to be a good friend but things were just so difficult and she was lost. 

I am still praying for this friend. You may be asking why did I tell you this story? Well, to be honest, I haven't even thought of this instance in a very long time, but this scripture reminded me of it. In writing this, it reminded me of a process I had to go through. I began to wonder if there was any Truth to what she called me, a Self-Righteous and Judgmental Christian, I realized she was right. I was right in addressing her and how I did it was right but this good friend knew the core of me. She saw the real inside of me. I began to weep leaving the dinner because I knew deep, down inside that, that was me. I refused to see my own sin, my own hurt, bitterness and anger.

You see my temptation wasn't like most peoples. I was raised right. I knew right from wrong, so well that at times I could cut you like a dagger with the Word. My friend knew that I was the "Perfect Christian" on the outside but was eaten up with self-righteousness on the inside. Since I was a young child, I always stood up for what was right and felt good about it, knowing it was the "Right" thing. Sometimes, we must examine ourselves. It is so hard for me to remain silent when I feel something is wrong. Often times, I forget God's Mercy too. 

But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.

I started on a journey all those years back and God still deals with me on when to remain silent and when to speak. My dear husband, is great at reminding me of this. My husband is pretty good at encouraging me to remain silent at the perfect time. :) He also, likes to encourage me to speak up when I need to.  I like the above verse in recognizing that we are a work in progress... so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. We will eventually reach that point but the key point goes on to say that you must ASK for his help and he WILL do it and you must not DOUBT! If you do, You are a double-minded person if you do! 

Say what? Double-minded! 

Verse 8

8 because he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways.

Unstable in all his ways! 

Okay, think about this. You want to improve your life, you are trying to but you keep struggling and doubting that God will really be able to help you. Just because you doubted a little, you are now Unstable in all your ways. This just seems super harsh to me. It makes sense though. If you can't trust the Maker of the Universe, the Creator of you, the One whom you serve, then you are Unstable! 

This is speaking to me and I hope it does to you as well! 

I challenge you today think. 

Are you Trusting God? Do you really Trust him with your Life? With your temptations? With your insecurities? With your Fears? 

Go be Fearless! Trust God! Watch him change you from the inside out! Watch him change your family, your finances, your Life! Whatever you are struggling with -- give it to him! 

My friend, Go and Persevere with great Joy!

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