James 1:6-8 KJV
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Doubts, fears and wavering faith are things that Satan wants to place in our minds. If he can just place one of them in "a corner" of our mind, it can grow and become toxic in the mind of a believer.
And you will see in the following verses, Satan was trying his best to work in the minds of the 12 disciples.
Mark 14:17-20 KJV
17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.
DOUBT, FEAR and WAVERING FAITH
I often think about the disciple’s three-year journey with our Lord.
During the three-year ministry of Jesus, I think about what they heard Jesus say and teach, which is much, much more than is recorded in the Gospels. All of the lessons. All of the parables. I can visualize them staying up late at night, around a fire, listening intently to the words of our Lord.
I think about what they saw Him do in performing miracles for multitudes of people. As John says, more than any book could recount.
Jesus was preparing them for their mission. They were learning, but yet, they didn’t quite understand.
While Jesus was alive the disciples were like a lot of folks, as they couldn’t quite comprehend everything, especially what He was telling them about His death and resurrection. This is astonishing to me.
In their journey, those 12 men saw the water turned into wine. They saw multitudes of people healed. They saw the man beside the pool stand up and walk. They saw many blind people see for the first time. They saw thousands fed with only a couple of fish and some bread. They saw a young girl raised from the dead. They saw Lazarus come forth from the tomb after being dead for 4 days. ALL displaying the power of Jesus, the Son of God.
At times they would confidently say that Jesus was the Son of God and they would never deny or betray Him.
----Yet, they would have doubts.
----Fear would at times overtake them. Remember Peter as he walked on the water. He denied Christ 3 times out of fear, after Jesus was arrested.
----Their faith would waver at times.
In fact, when He was on the cross, they fled, hoping to hide out until the furor died down. Likely a combination of doubt, fear and wavering faith.
Yes, they were like all of us.
In fact, in the upper room, when Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him, EACH of them questioned “Is it I?”
Think about this for a minute. EACH one of them questioned whether they would be the culprit. Each one wondered if they would be the one to betray their Lord and Master.
Their faith which had wavered from time to time was certainly in question at this moment, as they each thought “am I the one?” Again, each of them asked Jesus, “Is it I?”
WHAT SHOULD WE LEARN FROM the THREE WORDS "IS IT I"
What lesson can we take from these 3 words, spoken by each of our Lord’s disciples and students?
It teaches us that Satan is a powerful enemy.
That Satan can cause doubt to enter our minds and our faith to waver or even fail.
It should teach us that we must commune with God daily, growing spiritually and in faith.
Because Satan will try everything in his power to cause one of God’s children to stumble and fall. As we have mentioned in other lessons, Satan has placed a “target” on the back of believers and works tirelessly against them. Why? He already has the unbelievers in his corner.
Ephesians 6:12 KJV
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2 Corinthians 11:14 KJV
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
1 Timothy 5:15 KJV
15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
We haven’t seen Jesus or heard Him speak to us, yet we are just as blessed as believers because of this, according to what Jesus told Thomas.
John 20:29 KJV
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Yet the fact that each disciple (who had seen and heard the wonders of Jesus) could have doubts and be unsure if they would betray Him teaches us an important lesson and should keep us on guard against Satan. Always.
Obviously, we cannot betray Him to those who will crucify Him, but we can betray Him in other ways. And they will be just as painful to Him as the prior, as we will crucify Him anew.
Hebrews 6:6 KJV
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
We must remain vigilant against Satan and constantly on guard against his tactics.
We must always remember that Satan wants to destroy our soul and body. AND he does so by first polluting our mind. He only gains access if we let him into our mind.
We must be vigilant in keeping Satan out of our minds, as doubt, fear and a wavering faith can lead to spiritual peril. It can start crumbling the foundation of our relationship with God and can lead to being “tossed about by the waves” of false teaching (Ephesians 4:14) and worse.
Therefore, we should, no we must, remain vigilant in prayer and our daily worship of Him, growing spiritually each and every day. Never letting Satan put doubts in our mind or challenge our faith. And depending on the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us.
If Satan could cause each of the disciples to question themselves, asking “Is It I?” we certainly need to be on guard at all times, never having to doubt, fear or question ourselves or our Lord.
RVH