Doubt destroys, disrupts, denies, delays, destiny.

What was one thing that God promised you or that was prophesied over you repeatedly but has yet to be brought to fulfillment?

When Sennacherib, King of Assyria, wanted to belittle and discourage the people of Judah in Jerusalem, he did so by sending messengers to King Hezekiah saying:

"Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?" (Isaiah 37: 9-10)

By sowing seeds of doubt, perhaps King Sennacherib was hoping that Judah would surrender without a fight. But what he did not realise was that the challenge he had issued was directed not just to King Hezekiah alone but, indeed, to the one true living God as well. And God will not be mocked.

In the end, because King Hezekiah turned to God and cried out to Him, paying little to no heed to the taunts and threats of the enemy, God saved the city for His sake and the sake of David (Isaiah 37:35 and 2 Samuel 7:16).

Just like King Hezekiah, there may be times when doubt is used against us not so much as an agent of deception (as when used by the serpent in the Garden of Eden) but as a weapon to incite fear.

In the face of unlikely odds and seemingly unchanging circumstances, it may be tempting to think that God has abandoned you or forgotten about the covenant He has made with you, and much like Sarai we may start to settle for a compromised version or variation of His promise (Genesis 16:2) or simply lose hope altogether. But God does not forget (Isaiah 49:15), nor does He shortchange His people by only partially fulfilling His promises. He is a covenant-keeping God (Deuteronomy 7:9), and his promises never fail (Joshua 21 :45).

As King Hezekiah was resolute in his trust in God (and not earthly alliances, horses and chariots) and was eventually delivered, so too can you stand firm in your faith, resist doubt, and learn to hope in the LORD! As with the parable of the seed that fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plant, do not let voices of doubt grow and rob you of your destiny the way it robbed an entire generation of Israelites of their inheritance of the Promised Land. If doubt is the weapon of fear, then faith is the weapon of hope.

As Bill Johnson of Bethel Church puts it:

"Real faith doesn't deny the existence of a problem; real faith just doesn't let the problem have a place of influence."

Don't let delusion or doubt dominate your vision and destroy your hope. Remember that "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (Thessalonians 5:24)

Written by Shaun Goh