Confidence or Doubt

The moment's come. It's sink or swim, fly or drop. You've prayed, worked out the details, have a plan in motion; you're about to do work for God. You're on the edge of the cliff, ready to take a leap into the unknown.

Except you don't.

You stay on the cliff and look over the edge. You see the earth beneath you, the clouds swirling around. Across the gulf you discern the opposite cliff. But to get there, you have to fly. But what if you don't? What if you plummet and get battered and bruised?

Welcome to doubt.

It's a pesky old thing. Just when you're ready to take your leap and act, you suddenly begin to question. You have two options. Either shrink back and play it safe, or trust that God won't drop you and jump.

Easy to say, less than easy to do. Unfortunately there's no set amount of steps that prove successful 100% of the time. But God always asks us to believe and have confidence in Him, despite the circumstances. He calls us to step out of the boat and walk on water, a terrifying thought (Matthew 14:28-31). If we're working for God, our work isn't pointless. It will perform what it's meant to do (1 Corinthians 15:58).

At the end of the day you must make the decision. Faith isn't natural. Facts are more comfortable. But unfortunately most of the time the two don't mix. If you have the facts, you don't need faith. Faith becomes harder when we realize if we don't put it to the test and act on it, it's dead (James 2:26). We can't say we have faith and then sit around doing nothing. We need to take that incredibly uncomfortable step and not jump back just before we reach the edge.

Is that challenging? Absolutely. Trusting God is one of the hardest things ever. But thankfully, God doesn't leave us to guess if He'll be with us. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand. … For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'” (Isaiah 41:10, 13, NASB). He has made countless promises that He will help, guide, and be with us. Will we believe them, or will we doubt and withdraw from an opportunity that might lead to amazing results?

The choice is yours. Which will you allow to prevail? Faith or fear? Confidence or doubt?