Fear and Doubt - Verse Mapping Luke 24:38

For Week 3 of our OBS, I chose to dive into our scripture for the week - Luke 24:38: "'Why are you frightened?' he asked.  'Why are your hearts filled with doubt?'" (NLT) 

Frightened is defined by Google as "afraid or anxious."  Luke 24:38 details the disciple's reaction after Christ was resurrected from the dead.  Even after all the miracles that Jesus performed prior to the crucifixion, the disciples still did not believe that he was truly standing there - they were not believing the miracle of the resurrection!  Not only did they not believe, they were anxious and afraid.  Two other translations of Luke 24:38 read: 

• "And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'"  (NIV).
• "He continued with them, 'Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over.'" (MSG)  

God does not want us to be troubled, anxious, or afraid; and he especially does not want doubts taking over our lives.  How many of us are consumed with worry, anxiety, doubts for our lives?  Most of us are, but the good news is that we do not have to be filled with these any longer!  Jesus taught the disciples multiple times during his journey to not be troubled, anxious, or afraid (Luke 12:22-28, Matthew 6:25-34), yet they still were anxious and doubtful.  As disciples of Christ, we must learn to turn our concerns, worries, fears, anxieties, and doubts over to God.  Not only does He ask that we do so, he wants us to do so!  He desires for us to talk to him, and to turn everything over to him.  How incredible is it that we have such a loving God, who wants us to live free of anxiety and doubts?!?  All we have to do is believe, and trust in Him.  

Doubt is a word I use on almost a daily basis.  If I do not say it out loud (i.e. "I doubt we can make that work...I doubt I will have time for that"), then I say it internally (i.e. "I doubt I can do that...I doubt that he/she will do what they are supposed to").  Merriam-Webster defines doubt as "To be uncertain about (something); to believe that (something) may not be true or is unlikely; to have no confidence in (someone or something)."  

WOW!  That completely changes the way I think of using "doubt!"  When I say something such as "I doubt that we can make that work," I am saying "I do not believe that we can do this."  Not only does that mean I do not believe in myself, but that I do not believe in others - which is not true!  I have decided to become intentional about restructuring my thoughts, so that I can restructure the words I say!  I will begin thinking better thoughts (i.e. "I will do my best to accomplish this...I believe that they will do their job well"), so that I can say better statements (i.e. "We will do our best to make this work...If there is time, we will take care of that").  What a change that could be for my own life, and for the lives of those around me!  

By turning over our doubts to Him, we are removing all our dis-belief from our lives, which allows us to believe in ourselves and in others.  This is life-changing!  Imagine living your life believing that you can accomplish everything you need to and want to, and believing that those around you can live up to their full potential as well.  This brings glory and honor to God, and it also makes our lives so much more enjoyable!  While it is not always easy to turn everything over to God, we will find true peace and joy once we are able to fully surrender to Him.  

I pray you are able to turn your doubts over, find freedom, joy, peace, and blessings in Christ, and begin #movingforward!  God bless :)