Tag: Doubting

Exposing Satan’s Attack on Christian Believers

How many people do you know won’t go to church for one reason or another? In my last post, I explained why Satan wants to destroy the church. He is effectively dismembering the body of Christ, but most Christians do not realize the unseen war all around them, so they let it go on. It is time to fight for the spiritual life of your fellow Believers and the Church. If you don’t know how to fight demonic forces, I recommend my book called Fighting Unseen Battles.

In my second post of this series, I addressed why people leave the church. Though there are many reasons, the number one reason people leave the church is being offended. Have you been offended by someone or something in the church? What was your natural response when you became offended? Most offended people simply leave the church and lose their faith, which is Satan’s goal for all of us. People are messy, and so is the church. Jesus said in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Satan causes Believers to Doubt and Walk Away From God

I ended one of my posts with Hebrews 3:12, which states, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” Doubt is unbelief, which comes from the devil. Unbelief is a sin; otherwise, why would it be called evil? Unbelief is disobedience, as we are all called to believe.

Doubt leads to disobedience. Read in Genesis 3 how Satan deceived Eve into eating the apple. He began by causing her to doubt God, which led to disobedience and separation from God. Satan uses the same tactic. If that does not work, then he uses distraction. I know many young people who grew up in the church, then later believed Satan’s lies, began to doubt, and were lured away from their faith through worldliness. My oldest son is one of those people who stopped believing, and many of my friends and Pastors I know have children who doubted and walked away from their faith.

First, don’t judge them; they need your love. They know how you believe, so preaching to them does not help. Second, pray for God to remove the blinders that Satan has put on them (2Cor. 4:4). Remind God that He promised that His Word would not return void and accomplish what He intended it to do (Is. 55:11). Pray for God to restore them and lead them back to the path of righteousness (Ps. 23:3). Seek your Heavenly Father to keep drawing them to himself. (John 6:44). Don’t give up faith; keep praying for those who fell away from the faith because of doubt and worldliness. Hebrews 11:6 explains, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Continue to diligently seek God for your children and for everyone who has fallen away. Keep in mind that you are fighting an unseen war.

A friend said the worst thing she did was encourage her son to go to college. She feels that college caused him to doubt God, now he has walked away from his faith. My youngest son went to college and remained firm in his faith, but my oldest decided he would instead go the way of the world, which caused him to walk away from his faith. Many people doubt God because of unanswered prayers. I wrote a series of posts to expose this topic because I struggled in this area. You can read all my posts in Posts About Prayer. Satan will use any means to cause doubt, which is why we need to take every thought captive and make it obey Christ (2Cor. 10:5).

Lured Away from Our Faith By Worldly Activities

I have known many Christians who skipped church to participate in secular activities. Once in a while is okay, but what often happens is a person can find other activities they would rather do than go to church. For example, my husband is part of a group of guys who shoot at clays. Though the activity is held Sunday morning, he does not miss church but goes right after church and is usually the last group to do the rounds. More and more, sporting competitions are held Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, which keep the kids and parents from attending church.

Since the pandemic and mandating churches to close their doors, many churches have lost members because the members are either too afraid to go to church or it is easier to do internet/TV church. I explain the danger of not attending church in my first post. Leaving the church for worldly pursuits is a slow fade; it is usually not all at one time. I have written a lot about the dangers of worldliness. Here are two posts, Recognize Worldly Thinking and be Free and Unseen Battle With The Secular World.

I had an inmate in my Bible Study admit to being strong in her faith, and she read her Bible every day. One day, as she watched TV, the Holy Spirit drew her to read her Bible, but she ignored the Holy Spirit and kept watching TV. Soon she stopped reading her Bible altogether and began to hang out with her old friends, who enticed her to get back into using drugs. She said she knew that when she stopped reading her Bible and stopped going to church, that was when Satan enticed her to hang out with her old friends. Now she was in jail again.

CONCLUSION

I could write so much more but I would love to hear what you think about these topics and your experience. I hope you read my other posts for a better understanding and to learn how to fight these unseen battles. I encourage you to buy my book. If you want to know what my book is about read my review post.

May God Bless you richly,

Joyce

15 Promises We Can Trust God to Keep

In my last two posts, I shared the many miracles I experienced when I trusted God to keep His promises.  The conclusion I came to is trusting fills us with peace because we don’t have to worry or fret.

So, what prevents us from believing God keeps His promises? The answer to this question is simple; doubt from wrong thinking and lies we believe. Often, the significant people in our lives did not keep the promises they made to us, which causes us to doubt that God keeps His promises. Maybe we did not keep our promises, and the quilt prevents us from believing God keeps His promises. Correcting our corrupted faith from wrong thinking and healing our painful experiences requires diligence and perseverance. So how do we transform our painful experiences and change our wrong thinking? I thoroughly explain how in my book called “Hope for Complete Healing,” which is also on my website. 1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories.

Read each of the promises listed below and rate, from 0 to 5, how much faith you have in God to keep the promise: 0-not at all, 1-struggling, 2-sometimes, 3-depends on the situation, 4-most of the time, and 5-completely.  Rate all the promises before reading the extra text in italics.

God keeps His promises to His children (John 1:12 ― Romans 9:8). So, it is necessary to rate the first promise as a five.  If you could not answer with a 5, then read each of the scripture passages listed after this promise and pray for God to open your eyes and give you understanding.

1) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― You are saved from sin and death and have the hope of eternal life (John 10:27, 28; 3:16 – Romans 5:12; 6:23; 8:2; 10:9 – Ephesians 2:8 – Titus 3:4-7 – 1 John 5:13). To become a child of God, you must believe in the name of Jesus, and then ask Him to come into your heart by faith (Ephesians 3:17) and to fill you with His life, light, and love. Jesus is the only legal way to get into heaven (John 14:6).

2) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God forgives all your sins and cleanses you from all unrighteousness when you confess your sin (Psalms 103:3 and 1John 1:9).

If you did not answer 5, then ask God to show you if you haven’t forgiven yourself, and if so, what do you need to forgive yourself for. Follow the steps listed after the survey to resolve why. If He shows you need to forgive someone, then do that, because Matthew 6:15 states “but if you do not forgive others their sins, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your sins.” Ask God to remove the guilt from your heart, and then with thanksgiving, bind in the promise above.

For example, I asked God to show me why I did not feel love. God showed me that I did not love myself, and therefore, could not love others, so I asked God to reveal why. He revealed the answer during a Bible Study. The leader explained how the Old Testament Priests offered two sacrifices, one for the forgiveness of sins and another for guilt. God showed me I needed to ask Him to remove the guilt from my past sins. After I prayed, I felt a huge weight lift off me. Not only does He forgive all our sins but forgets them as well (Jeremiah 31:4 and Hebrews 8:12).

3) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God will never leave you nor forsake you because He loves you (Deuteronomy 31:6&8 and Hebrews 13:5).

If you did not answer 5, then ask God to show you the painful memories of being abandoned, rejected, or neglected. Follow the steps listed after the survey . Maybe you feel God has abandoned you by not answering a prayer, which caused an offense to form in your heart. Often, unconfessed sin prevents answers to prayer (see Psalm 66:18 and Isaiah 59:1,2). Follow the steps after the survey and work through the offenses (resentments, even toward God), then bind in the promise with thankfulness. Psalm 9:9-10 states, “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.” Also, look-up Psalm 107:13-16.

God did not answer my prayer to heal my first marriage and keep us together. I felt forsaken and despaired as I faced divorce.  I was pouring my heart out to God and told Him I was going to walk away from my faith. And God answered, “What is the alternative?” I thought about it and knew that Satan would love to destroy me, so I stayed tight with God and experienced many miracles, which I wrote in the post Trust God to Keep His Promises

4) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ―You are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you, and nothing will separate you from His love (Romans 8:37-39). Also see Ephesians 3:16-19.

If you did not answer 5, then ask God to show you the painful experiences of failure or memories of not being loved and accepted. Isaiah 54:10 states, “’Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Breathe deeply and repeat this truth over and over until it enters your heart. Follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason why you doubt.

5) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God’s plans for you are for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

If you did not answer 5, then ask God to show the wrong choices you made and the fear of consequences that has stolen your hope. Or, you may have painful memories concerning mistakes others have made that have affected you and your hope for a good future. Maybe you’re struggling with trials and hardships, and you can’t see how good can come out of them. Follow the steps after the survey to resolve these painful issues. Meditate on Psalms 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Also meditate on Isaiah 26:3.

6) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God will cause all things to work together for good according to His purpose for those that love Him (Romans 8:38 – Proverbs 3:5-8).

This promise is often overused, but it still comforts us when we don’t understand why something happened as it did, and God did not answer our prayer the way we wanted. For example, I did not like losing my job, but God wanted me to write another book, and that was the only way it was going to happen. When I completed the task, then I was offered another job. During that time, God provided for all my needs. Also, God wants to heal all the memories of disappointment from your past and show you His goodness. If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason for your doubts.

7) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God will supply all your needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19 and Matthew 6:31-33).

God will not always give you what you want (James 4:3), but what you need. Practice thankfulness for the things He has given you. For example, I needed a free small piano for my son, so I prayed for it. The next day I turned on the radio, which I rarely do, and a woman was giving away a piano. It was the exact size I needed, and even though it was broken, it played beautifully. Psalms 37:4,5 states, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5) Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” Notice what our response is to be in this verse. If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason why.

8) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― When we come to God and do what He says, we will dwell secure and will find rest, without the dread of disaster (Psalms 91 – Proverbs 1:33 – Matthew 11:28-29).

If you feel anxious or dread that something terrible will happen, then ask God to heal those memories of painful things happening to you, (i.e., abuse). It may be helpful to read my post ANXIETY: Protected by Worry and Fear Strongholds and Why, What, and How to Submit to God and be FREE  If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason why you have doubts.

9) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3 – 2 Timothy 4:18 – 1 John 5:18 – Psalm 121:7-8).

Sometimes we need to claim promises by faith even when we don’t understand how God will keep the promise. Remember the miracles God did for King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Also remember, giving God thanks for keeping His promises is a way to exercise our faith. If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve your doubts.

10) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability to bear it.  With the temptation, He will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Know that we all will be tempted, which will be different for each person because Satan knows our weaknesses. When God shows you the way of escape, then obey. If you have to get rid of Facebook or the internet, do it. If you have to give up your friends who want to take you in a direction you don’t want to go, then walk away from them, they aren’t really your friends. Make new friends who are healthy and walking in the newness of Christ (Ephesians 4:17-24). Be in the Word of God every day and pray continually (see I Peter 5:8-10 and Ephesians 6:10-18). Resist the devil and draw near to God (James 4:7,8). If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason for the doubt.

11) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God gives power and strength and helps us when we trust Him (Isaiah 40:29-31 – Isaiah 41:10 – Psalms 46:1 – Hebrews 4:14-16).

Claim this promise for all your addictions or trials you may be facing. If you are trying to overcome an addiction, then read how to overcome addictions in my book first. If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason why.

12) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God is doing a new thing in your life, and He will make a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43:19).

This promise was one I claimed when I was struggling as a single mother, and He answered this promise in marvelous ways. Rejoice when you see God doing new things in your life and when you see opportunities you never dreamed you would experience. If you did not answer 5, then follow the steps after the survey to resolve the reason why.

13) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― God’s peace will guard your heart and your mind when you trust Him in every situation and pray with thanksgiving as you present your requests to Him (Philippians 4:6-7). Also see Luke 11:9-13 and Isaiah 26:3.

14) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and if we know He hears us in whatever we ask; we know we have the requests we have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15 – 1 John 3:21-23 – John 15:16).

15) 0 1 2 3 4 5 ― If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5 – Proverbs 2:6; 3:13; 4:7; 8:12; 9:10; 11:2; 13:10; 15:33 – Ecclesiastes 2:26 – Ephesians 1:17).

Evaluate the promises you answered 0 to 4, by praying through the following steps to heal the painful experiences and memories that may be causing you to doubt.

1. Ask God to show you why you do not completely believe the promise. It could be a painful experience that generated an offense (also called resentment), which is causing you to believe a lie. Be patient and sensitive to images or feelings He brings up from your subconscious mind.

a) It may be guilt from a sin you committed or a promise you did not keep, which can be confessed to God and ask His forgiveness.
b) It may be a sin from another person who hurt you. The hurt is healed when you forgive that person, and then ask God to heal the wound and remove the negative energy from the painful memory. If you find it hard to forgive, then read my post: “Why should I forgive?

2. Write down the reason you doubt, or the revealed memory of the offense, word curse, etc. And then ask God to lose the negative effects of the memory and offense from your heart and mind. Find something to be thankful for.  For example, thank Him for what He did to protect you, provide for you, prevent worse things, or comforted you.

3. Next, list all unhealthy beliefs (lies you believe) that the Holy Spirit reveals that is causing you to doubt. Ask God to lose and remove these lies, and then bind in to your heart the truth found in the Bible passages listed after the promise.

4. Last, identify the wrong behaviors (sins) and decisions you made as a result of wrong thinking and doubt. Repent by confessing them and seeking God’s forgiveness. See 1 John 1:9. If this does not make sense, then my book mentioned above will help explain this concept more clearly.

The Bible contains many more promises that we can believe and claim for our lives and for the difficult situations we are going through. I recommend the book called “Scripture Keys for Kingdom Living” compiled by June Newman Davis, for many more promises to believe.

If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing a lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).