For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5).
The cure for doubts is faith... Faith is believing God, believing just what God says. God has said many things and made many promises. Faith expects God to fulfill His word. Trust is faith holding on and waiting.
We are sanctified by faith; we enter into complete soul-rest by faith. There is no other way. We must come to God and simply ask Him to work His complete redemption in our hearts and fill us with the Spirit.
After we give ourselves wholly to Him, after we lay all on the altar, there is nothing more that we can do except trust and obey. It is God’s part to complete in us the work for salvation; our business is to trust Him to do it. We trust carpenters and builders to build our houses, we trust bankers with our money, we trust men every day and hour of our lives; shall we not trust God?
In all battles with doubt, go back to basic facts. Allow no confusion of mind, no agitation of spirit; calm every fear and find out just where and how you are... Never allow yourself to doubt a point that has been settled. Let it stay settled...
Ask yourself if you believe God is true to His word, if you believe He will do what He promised. If you say, “Yes,” let that point be settled also. Stand by it. If you have met the conditions upon which God promised to cleanse and fill you, you must believe that God does these things for you.
Doubt has a dreadful reaction on the soul and mind. Its influence is deadening and damning. It shrivels and dries up the joy and spontaneity of service. It makes one feel inferior and weak.
Instead of causing one to fight, doubts lead one to give up the fight; instead of prompting resistance, doubts make one lie down and get wounded and bruised. Doubts make us failures. They blight, mar, and drag down. They are the devil’s own poison to kill off God’s people.
There is only one thing to do to overcome doubts: have faith in God. Kill the doubts, or they will kill you. “This is the victory that [overcomes] the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
~ Robert L. Berry ~ Adventures in the Land of Canaan~ 1924
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