The Doubting Tongue {Day 27}

30 Days to Taming Your Tongue - What you say (and don't say) will improve your relationships by Deborah Smith Pegues

Day Twenty-Seven - The Doubting Tongue

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says - Mark 11:23

If we ever hope to tame a doubting tongue, we must become familiar with the promises of God.  Words of doubt come out of an unbelieving heart.  Of course, merely knowing the promises of God is not enough; we must become proficient at declaring them.  Faith comes by hearing - Romans 10:17  The more we declare our unbelief, the more reinforced it becomes.  The more we assert our confidence in a positive outcome, the more our faith increases.  Because we will believe what we constantly hear, we must take personal responsibility for what we hear.  We may have to limit --or eliminate-- our contact with individuals who tend to express negativity about various outcomes, goals, or results we desire.

Often our words of doubt originate out of our tendency to act in self-confidence.  Self-confidence is a concept touted by the world that tells us we must rely on our own skills and abilities.  This is a direct contradiction to King Solomon's warning He who trusts in himself is a fool - Proverbs 28:26  When we face a challenge and quickly assess our own ability to conquer it, we will most likely come up short -- and doubting.  We must be on guard not to give our doubts substance by declaring them.

If the spirit of unbelief plagues you, I challenge you to get a good study Bible and to search the Scriptures for verses relating to your areas of concern.  Write down a passage, meditate on it often, and memorize it.  This sounds simple but it's not easy.  Some doubts die hard.  we must be persistent in declaring our victory.

What are some things you find yourself speaking about in a doubtful way?  Is it the fear of pursuing a career or task for which you feel inadequate?  The hopelessness of forging an amicable relationship with a difficult person?  The seemingly impossible task of getting into shape?  Perhaps you have resorted to being a Doubting Thomas who would only believe what he could touch (see John 20:25)

God's children are to live by faith -- in God.  We cannot afford to get stymied in the "sense realm" of what we can see and feel.  Our doubts can deter our destiny.

Our attitudes and conversations will change when we face the reality that apart from God we can do absolutely nothing.  Decide today to skip the skepticism, doubt the doubts, and believe the best!

Today's Affirmation:

Anything is possible for me if I believe.  Therefore, I will declare my faith rather than discuss my doubts.