SEEDS OF DOUBT
James 1:5-8
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 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. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
It's the first warm day of winter today. The eaves are dripping, and the thermometer is almost to 50 degrees. It’s starting to feel like spring and many deer hunters are surely beginning to think of the food plots they will planting soon. I have a few food plots that I am excited to see what they will produce this fall. One of them came up really well last year, but I had a problem with the north end where there had been a lot of ferns growing in years past, before we tilled the ground.
Shortly after the plot greened up from the seeds we planted, I noticed something else growing as well. Soon I saw that these were the remanent of the ferns from the past. As the late summer rains came those ferns flourished and they overtook the good plants that were growing. The more they were watered by the rains, the more they choked out the better plants. It made me think of how that happens in our lives as well.
Several years ago, after reading a different devotional I had written about the storms of life, my grandson Micah came to me and said, "Grandpa, when satan plants seeds of doubt in our hearts and then when the storms of life come and rain down on us, this helps those seeds of doubt grow." That was a lot of wisdom that I had never thought of and it brought me back to the ferns.
Recently, I read about a pastor that had started out as a young man preaching in Michigan. He seemed sound in his preaching and teaching. Somewhere along the way he lost his faith in God's word. He now believes that EVERYONE eventually will find his or her way to heaven.
I believe this young man probably had a strong faith by what I was able to learn about him. From what I could find he probably believed that the Bible was God's word and was infallible. Somewhere along the line he had a seed of doubt planted in his heart and it grew.
1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
This is a reminder that we need to be on alert 24/7 because Satan is certainly wanting to destroy God's work and in doing so will destroy God's people in any way that he can. The best way for Satan to do that is to plant those seeds of doubt and then bring the storms that will give those seeds nourishment to grow. Don't allow him to divert your faith or your efforts to serve God.
When the seeds of doubt are planted in your heart, remove them immediately, don't let them take root. If they take root they, like the ferns in my food plot, are harder to remove and eventually they will choke out the good growth that has taken place.
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