Editorial: Defeat the Doubt vs Doubt and Defeat

The way words are prioritized can invigorate with inspiration and Hope, or leave one in despair.

A new perspective can help us see things are not as we have thought them, providing a way past doubt. God helps us in this manner. In Isaiah 55:8, “The LORD says, "My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.” ERV Yet because we approach things from the angle we do, we can become pessimistic and insecure. Frequently, this is why people view God's call or purposes as impossible, or at least unrealistic, and often why we stay in doubt.

Doubt is a defeatist setup, as a practice, the vacillating between two or more options of which we are not completely sure. Consequently, we can't commit and stay stuck. Just look up Buriden's Donkey's dilemma of indecision. The Bible says it this way, “A double-minded man (person) is unstable in all his (their) ways.” KJV When we're unable to decide, we go through moments, sometimes our entire lives unresolved in some consequential areas, remaining unsure, insecure and even angry, not seeing the favourable construction in things.

At least, if we choose a course of action and pursue it, we can be guided to steer our car (our lives) in a better direction. Just try steering a car if it's going nowhere. You turn the wheel easy enough but it won't get you anywhere, unless you're moving. This is what God needs from us, commitment, and that's not a stagnant thing, it is moving out.

There is an old saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This is because intentions are just that, states of 'tension,' and unless released in a direction they produce only strain. Try pulling back an arrow in a bow and point it in a direction. That's in-tention. Then, just hold it there, never let the arrow do it's work, all you'll have is strain. If one finds themselves amidst choices, a decision must be made, then acted on, so we can move forward.

Remembering God is there, if we remain malleable, allows Him to nudge us as we go, leading eventually to a constructive direction. Of course, if we have been in a state of 'doubt' for a long time, it may take a few course corrections along the way to get to a good track, but that's the way life works. It's seldom perfect out of the gate but as we move we gather two encouraging things. One, we are getting closer to better, and two, this side of heaven, human perfection is an illusion, so growing closer than the mess we had before is great relief. This awareness is called living in Grace.

We learn to accept, God wants us to give this break to ourselves, so we won't return to that indecision junk anymore. Then, we learn to extend that same realistic caring to the lives and growth of others. This process is repeated, in progressive steps in life, and there you have it. This is what's known as walking in Faith. Faith is 'actually,' that instruction God is imparting to us along our way. It always involves consideration of others, so we find ourselves loving others as we go. This leaves us with purpose, on purpose, and a very good feeling about our contribution in lives. What a safe feeling! What a secure society we would have, if we all approached life, governmental authorities, our neighbours, family members or our own inadequacies with this Grace, understanding and time needed.

People, I want you to know, I am learning to pray better, more empathetically, and in this Grace. I pray for our P.M., Justin Trudeau, to be guided with more inclusive, on the ground considerations, for Doug Ford, as he searches to find the more needed options (opt-ins) in a secure Ontario future. In this regard, I also pray, WE all remind ourselves of the incredible responsibility these jobs involve, the over whelming number of expectations placed on these persons every day. I pray, WE, as an electorate, would take a beat now and again, before we criticize them navigating in this juggling act. It would be good to ask ourselves, could I really do this job? Would you want to? I certainly wouldn't. They deserve honour. They have to fight indecision and defeat, umpteen times each day. Yet we can struggle with doubt in the small handful of choices we have. God is there to help. We all need to step out, trusting.

I pray, regularly, for police officers, who have to choose in an instant, over and over. At least our choices provide a little time for fallout to come, with more time for correction. I pray for protection over everyone in the armed forces, over those who are veterans, those serving actively and those preparing to. God please give them each the awareness needed to work together and navigate wisely. Keep them strong healthy and secure. They don't have time to freeze in doubt, so they need our continual prayer cover. I pray the same way for doctors, nurses and all those in health care, thank-you all for entering the fray.

To defeat doubt is to know what to do and act. Certainly, knowing God is there, wants to guide, and cares for us removes a huge amount of hesitation.

I pray you will be able to trust your life to God, in Christ Jesus and come to experience the freedom from paralysis this provides. Be free, be blessed, and God love you.