Doubt! The enemy’s greatest
ally. Right from the outset of time, when Adam and Eve where in the garden of Eden,
the devil has used his greatest ally. In order to deceive, he implemented the element that of doubt.
The first recorded words spoken to humanity, were, “Yea, hath God said?” Genesis
3:1.
And even at this point he’d got things the wrong way round. One does
not give the answer before the question, especially when the answer is in total contradiction to what you are trying to achieve.
Yes, God did say!
As we know the enemy has been a deceiver from the beginning, and what better
way to deceive mankind than to cast doubt and aspersions on God’s authority.
God had given clear instructions to Adam and Eve, with regard to what they
could and couldn’t eat, and, if the devil had come attempting to assert his own authority on the situation, it would
have had no impact, because he does not have any authority apart from what God allows. So, in order to
award himself with some form of authority, and remove God’s authority, he casts aspersions and doubt on God’s
word.
Even when we look at the temptation of Christ, the enemy attempted to cast doubt on the Lords
credibility and deity by saying, “IF, thou be the Son of God,”
Please note that when he was attempting to tempt Jesus he had to use the word
‘IF’ three times, and obviously to no effect.
In Matthew 4 verse 3, he says “IF thou be the Son of God”, this is repeated in
verse 6, and in verse 9, he says “IF thou wilt fall down and worship me”.
The enemy knows
that if we doubt God, in any way whatsoever, he drags us down to his level. We read in 1 John 3:8, that
the devil sinneth from the beginning. We also read in Romans 14:23 that ‘whatsoever is not of faith
is sin’.
The enemy
therefore uses doubt, which is lack of faith, as much as he possibly can.
In the world, ‘seeing is believing’
but in God ‘believing is seeing’.
In Mark 9:23, we read, ‘Jesus said unto him, “If
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”.’
There is so much emphasis placed on
faith throughout all scripture because without faith it is impossible to please God. if we do not believe
then we have nothing. Because without faith, without trust (which is faith) we have NOTHING.
Hebrews 11:6. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God, must believe that
He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”.
