Doubt Busters

There may come a time when we look at our lives and realize that God was no longer at work. We no longer enjoy the freedom, peace, and power we had with Him.

In the same way in Israel’s history, in the time of Saul, they had departed from God, but the reality did not hit them until the Philistines went to war with them and Israel brought out the ark of the covenant to the battle. Israel lost the battle, and the Philistines captured the ark (1 Samuel 4).

When we do something wrong and we knew better, sometimes it shocks us awake, especially when we could have resisted it before. We approached life as usual, then wham! The sin came out of nowhere and we were surprised. The Jews were surprised because they brought the ark with them, the symbol of God’s presence. But the Lord was not with them.

Our God wants to make Himself known to the world. He had this desire from the very beginning in the garden of Eden when He created the first couple. He made them in His image (Genesis 2:26–27).

He wanted them to be “fruitful,” meaning to flourish with all the God-given abilities, talents, and gifts they were given. To “multiply,” to procreate more godly images of Him. To “fill the earth” with these God-honoring images of Himself (Gen. 2:28 NKJV).

But sin entered in when the couple chose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at the instigation of a Satanic serpent (Gen. 3). So their offspring was corrupted with a sinful image, one that no longer looks to God for guidance, but instinctively acts with autonomy, deciding what is good and right for themselves. So all people begin life with this sinful mindset. Meanwhile, God left a promise of a new man who was to come, saying to the serpent, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15; “bruise” in these two uses can also be rendered “crush”).

.  My pain and loss echoes His own pain over our broken love relationship, for my sin separated me from God. I confess to hurting Him. 
.  I confess that it was my fault and my sin alone that understandably drove Him from me. 
.  I acknowledge that I still love Him more than my sin. 
.  I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I feel terrible over how I could chose momentary sin over a life with Him.