A habit is something we do almost without thinking. It’s part of who we are. They can be good habits, like eating right and exercising. They can be bad habits. Things that hold us back.
It takes 21 days to create a habit but 10 weeks to break one, so it benefits us to just set good habits to begin with. Believe me. I’ve been on a 40-day sugar fast, and I’ve learned some things about myself.
First, I get easily addicted to sugar. I generally eat healthy and clean. If I eat something sweet, usually it’s sweetened with natural sweeteners like honey or birch xylitol. They aren’t addictive to me. I can eat a little piece and be satisfied. But if I eat white processed sugar, it makes me want more. And more. And I can never eat enough to satisfy. (Boy could we preach a hundred directions from here.)
But when I try to go off it, I experience legit withdrawal symptoms. Headaches. Nausea. Fatigue. When I went off it in January, I didn’t think I would have an issue because I didn’t eat that much, but obviously I ate enough for my body to withdrawal from it. It took four days of symptoms to be completely free of it and to be honest I didn’t even crave it any more.
But I missed it. Not the taste of it. Not the effects of it. The H A B I T of it. Having something sweet at the end of the meal. Eating a small piece of chocolate in the middle of the afternoon or when I was stressed. It began to hold the wrong place in my life and I ate it without thinking, so I knew I needed to break that habit.
There’s one habit we all need to break: D O U B T
We need to break the habit of doubting. Doubting God’s Word. Doubting God’s presence. Doubt is the opposite of faith. Doubt robs us in our walk with God. It brings anxiety that need not be there. It diminishes our ability to hear from God. To receive from God.
Now without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 (tlv)
Doubt comes in the form of little thoughts, like it did to Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3. “Did God really say?” “Will God really do?” “That’s not what God really meant.”
And they come to us in little thoughts like:
“If the Bible says God will never leave you, why do you feel so alone? Maybe that’s not what that means.”
“I know you think the Bible says God wants to heal you, but you prayed and you still feel those symptoms. Maybe that isn’t what He really meant.”
“You’ll never overcome that sin you’re trying to kick out of your life. You’ve tried and tried but you keep doing it. You should give up. It’s never gonna happen. It’s just more powerful than you.”
Little thoughts that seem reasonable but are out and out deception. God really meant what He said and He will really do what we promised and it’s our faith that pulls it from heaven to earth. Our job is to hold onto our faith. The enemy’s job is to get us to doubt.
So I suggest we form a new habit: DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS
We need to get in the habit of doubting our doubts. The Bible calls the devil the father of lies, so that means the opposite of what he whispers in our ear is actually true.
If he says, “Maybe God left you,” the opposite is actually true. God is with you. You just can’t feel Him and that’s okay because we walk by faith and not by sight.
If he says, “You’ll never overcome,” it actually means you are already overcoming and he’s afraid of you so you should keep pressing forward.
If he says, “You’re not healed! Just look at those symptoms,” you can stand up and give a shout of thanksgiving to God because it shows you already are healed. The symptoms will go if you hold on to your faith because God is faithful to His Word.
Doubt your doubts. Anytime a doubt comes to mind about God or His Word, say out loud from your lips, “I doubt that, devil. Now leave.” And then replace that lie with what the Word says about your situation. That is what releases the power of God to work and keep working.
Let’s doubt our doubts, resist the devil and watch him flee as we walk in the victory Jesus paid for.
