Billy Graham - Dealing with Doubt: The Journey Study Series

Dealing
with
Doubt

The Journey Study Series

Searching for Hope

Living as a Christian

Leaving a Legacy

Dealing with Doubt

Confronting the Enemies Within

Embracing the Good News

Building a Christ-Centered Home

Learning to Pray

The Facilitators Guide

Dealing
with
Doubt

A Thomas Nelson Study Series
Based on The Journey
by BILLY GRAHAM

2007 by Billy Graham Literary Trust

Additional material written by Terry Hadaway

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Dealing with Doubt: A Thomas Nelson Study Series Based on The Journey by Billy Graham

ISBN-13: 978-1-4185-1771-7
ISBN-10: 1-4185-1771-2

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 11 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

1
Can
We Be
Sure?

T O GET THE MOST FROM THIS STUDY GUIDE, READ pages 6367 of The Journey.

Is uncertainty the only certainty in life? Uncertainty and insecurity seem to be the watchwords of our generation. Any certainty in this uncertain world, many have concluded, is little more than wishful thinking.Must uncertainty also be true of our spiritual lives?

BILLY GRAHAM
The Journey

THINK ABOUT IT

God never made a promise that was too good to be true.

DWIGHT L. MOODY

I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

2 TIMOTHY 1:12

So many things in life are uncertain that its difficult for many people to accept Gods message without having doubts. People who experience Gods love still may convince themselves that God couldnt possibly love them. Doubts can overwhelm new or shallow-rooted faith and leave people wondering if they really have a relationship with God.

Doubts are a normal part of life. We doubt things on earth, so its easy to doubt the things of God. Yet Gods promises are His promises. What He has said in the past remains true today. God never changes and never goes back on His Word. If He did, then He wouldnt be God.

We run into trouble when we try to give God human characteristics because God is so much more. But thats all we understand. When we are let down by a person, we can easily believe God will let us down. Its true that God often doesnt come through in the way and timing you expected, but thats not a flaw in God; its a flaw in your expectations. Lets take a closer look at doubt and how we can overcome it in our spiritual lives.

REWIND

What are some things you expected God to do but He didnt do?

How was your faith affected by these events?

When reevaluating the situations mentioned above, what mistakes did you make?

____ I looked at things from my perspective rather than from Gods perspective.

____ I gave God a to do list rather than seeking His direction.

____ I misunderstood what it means to trust God.

____ I had an inadequate understanding of Gods Word.

____ Other: __________________________________

In this life, uncertainty is certain! Take a look at todays headlines and you wont find many things that encourage you. Get to know your neighbors and youll discover they, too, have doubts about the state of our world. The family is disintegrating, and biblical values are being challenged. The coming generations are skeptical about their employers, the economy, world peace, and just about everything else. Some of this skepticism is justified. Ours is no longer a society of trust. Today, people spend countless hours developing scams that are intended to take advantage of trusting people.

But does cultural uncertainty automatically lead to spiritual uncertainty? Is it possible to really trust God to keep His promises? What causes people to doubt their faith?

JOURNEY THROUGH GODS WORD

We use the term backsliding in a variety of situations, yet there is some question about the biblical accuracy of the term. In the Old Testament, backsliding is used in reference to Israels inconsistent relationship with God.

Because of Israels lack of faith in Him, God declared that the nation was backsliding (Isaiah 57:17). In Jeremiah 3, God uses backsliding as an adjective describ- ing the manner in which Israel had behaved in their relationship with Him.

In Hosea 11:7, God pointed out that His people called to Him but were inconsistent in their relationships with Him.

Backsliding in the Old Testament involved not only turning away from God but serving other gods. The Israelites were strongly influenced by the Canaanite religions that were practiced by the people who inhabited the Promised Land. The Israelites were disobedient to Gods instruction to wipe out the pagan people and destroy their religion. As a result, the sensual nature of pagan religion appealed to many Israelites, so they polluted their faith with pagan practices and, over time, turned away from the pure practice of authentic faith in God.

Our culture is in a similar situation. Because the demands of real faith are difficult, we attempt to soften it with feel-good sermons and were all OK Bible studies. We avoid the hard truths of Scripture because we arent willing to let it transform our lives. We want God to meet our needs, but we dont want Him to get involved in changing our lives.

Though we arent the Israelites trying to live in the Promised Land, we still are spiritually distracted and subject to backsliding. Its an old term with a modern reality.

Doubts certainly are real, and they seem to pop up at the most inconvenient times. A closer investigation into the causes of doubt might help us develop a strategy for defending ourselves against Satans attacks.

RETHINK

What are some things that have caused you to question your faith or your salvation?

How can you know for sure that God really loves and cares for you? How can you overcome the natural doubts that come as a result of living in a sinful world? You must first consider one truth about Satanif he cant keep you from Christ, he will try to make you doubt your salvation.