“My Foot Almost Slipped”
Dealing with the Temptation of Doubt as a Child of God
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Today I want to deal with something that we all have either had to face or at some time will have to face and that is the temptation of doubt.
QUESTIONS:- Have you ever been to the point where you find yourself struggling not with right and wrong, not with rather democratic or republican, not with Pepsi or Coke, but struggling with what you have been taught and believe in your heart and what you are experiencing in your life. You do what the Bible says, you are faithful, you pay your tithes, you read your Bible, and you pray yet you find yourself struggling. You were so confident you heard from God. You knew without a shadow of doubt that he gave you direction, encouraging you to move forward. Everything you read in his word seems to confirm your plans. You prayed about it every step along the way, always giving glory to God and then suddenly it seems your plans literally blow up in your face.
You try to carry on as though everything is fine but down on the inside there is a war raging and you know that something is off a bit. The way things are going on in the world has you baffled. Black lives don’t seem to matter at all. Crime is justified based upon the color of a person skin. Tax evasion is rewarded to the rich, yet it seems you get 5 dollars and they constantly are trying to take 6 from you. Ungodliness is held to a high standard and righteousness is criticized and made to be a shame. Wrong is being called right and right is being called wrong. Then in the midst of it all you’ve noticed that your passion for God has started to dwindle, you are beginning to lose your desire to be in the Word and pray; you’ve become impatient, cynical, hard to live with, and you just don’t care much about the things of God. If you feel this way then this is for you – if you haven’t felt this way then this is for you because someday more than likely you will experience it and you need to know what is going on and how to handle it.
Understand this feeling doesn’t mean that you have lost your salvation, you are however; being tempted and you need to know how to fight against this temptation or else you will find yourself falling into a deep chasm threatened with a total loss of faith.
This temptation if not properly dealt with can lead to great sin although it is not so much a sin of the flesh, such as adultery, fornication, lust, homosexuality, drugs, or alcohol abuse. Neither is it a sin such as anger, covetousness, rebellion, unforgiveness, gossip or even pride. Yet if not properly dealt with it is capable of leading to every other sin listed here.
2020 has been a year unlike any other in recent history. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we operate with each other and how we deal with life in general. Death this year has literally seemed to be more staggering than normal. Over 200,000 people in the United States alone have died from this virus and the numbers are yet climbing. What we thought to be normal rather it was going out to eat or going to church has been changed. Racism and the blatant disregard for human decency seems no existent. We wonder within ourselves what is going on?
Sometimes we often wonder Why is it so hard to do right? The closer I try get to Jesus it seems like the more I suffer. You find yourself saying - my life has been so hard, so painful already. I've had all I can take, and I can’t take it anymore.
As a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as I have stated before my desire is to cause people to get to the heart of God. I want to be able to give people what God has given me with the wisdom and knowledge of God something that will help them make it through this temptation and seek the heart of God.
Prayer.
Scripture: Psalm 73:1-28
UNDERSTAND: - Doubts can be intellectual where we doubt that the Bible is really inspired by God or that Jesus really resurrected from the dead. Doubts can also be emotional. When a person has experienced great sorrow or disappointment like the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the betrayal of a spouse may cause a person to doubt the goodness, love, and care of God.
Whether intellectual or emotional, having doubts of any kind can be scary and cause one to even question their salvation. However, the Bible contains many examples of people who doubted; however, how we deal with that doubt is what is important.
CLAIRIFICATION: - There is a difference between unbelief and doubt. Unbelief is when people willfully set themselves against a biblical teaching. They choose not to believe. John 12:37 says “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”
Doubt is when people have an intellectual or emotional barrier to a more solid faith in a biblical teaching or to God. They want to believe, but they just need some help to believe. Mark 9:14-27 illustrates this when the father of a demonic possessed son looks to Jesus to cure him and says to Jesus “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”. The father acknowledges that though he has faith, he struggles with some doubts. Jesus still honored this man’s faith and heals his son.
We have often been taught that you cannot have faith and doubt when this clearly shows the presence of doubt does not mean the absence of faith! What is important is what you do with and how you handle the doubt.
I believe in times of desperation, tragedy, death, seemingly unbearable circumstances that God understands our sudden outbursts and doubt filled question, God, why did you allow this to me? Understand God is not intimidated by your questions! He doesn’t lack self-esteem and run off and cry when we deal with doubt and ask the question why? Even Jesus Christ, on Calvary’s cross, cried, “My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me?” But Jesus, in his overwhelming pain and suffering, did not allow his grief to take root. Instead, he allowed the Holy Spirit to console him. And in his most trying hour, he turned his life and future over to the father's hands: Luke 23:46 says “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost”.
That is the key during our crises when we cannot allow doubt to take root!
TEXT:- Psalm 73 deals with a man named Asaph and he said My Foot Almost Slipped! Or rather correctly “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped”. Asaph is dealing with the temptation of doubt. Understand Asaph a Levite and a leader of King David's choral worshipers. In todays terminology he was a leader on the Praise Team. He is also accredited with writing eleven of the Psalms called the Psalms of Asaph. Yet, despite his calling, his position, and blessings, Asaph is tempted with doubt.
Now, we know Asaph was a pure-hearted man. He had the right concept of God and in the 1st verse he says “Truly, God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart”.
Yet in the very next verse this Levite, this man of God, this member of the praise team says “I almost slipped. I almost fell like Kurt Carr said I almost let go”
Why does Asaph feel this way? Why does he make such a statement as this?
Because Asaph is going through some stuff and he feels that at this point in his relationship with God why is he suffering so. By now I should be pass this stuff. He sings on the praise team, he is a Levite responsible for certain things in the Tabernacle, he helps with the sacrifices and offerings, yet he is struggling. The 14th verse says “For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning”.
The Hebrew meaning of the words plagued and chastened is this: “I have been stricken violently with trouble! Every morning I wake up touched by sorrow, pain and grief. Every day I am being beaten down. I feel I'm being punished. It's too painful even to talk about” verses 14-16.
Asaph states in verse 3 “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked ”. As Asaph looked around him, all he saw was wicked people prospering with great wealth. People who apparently lived without pain, enjoying the high life, living in the lap of luxury with an abundance of material blessings, having all they could ever want or need. The pure hearted, dedicated, church going man of God was being tempted by the Devil with doubt and in his mind just couldn't understand it.
The Devil was beginning to place thoughts in his mind and he was beginning to think within himself and maybe you have felt this way too - Look at all the foolishness. They do not pray. They reject God's word. They neglect the Lord's commands. And yet they aren't plagued as other men are! Psalm 73:5 says, “They are not in trouble as other men”.
The wicked are not plagued as I am. They only do evil and yet they prosper! While I deny myself, they grow rich and prosperous. While I am weak with sorrow, their strength is firm vs 4.
He even asked in verse 11 “How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High”. In other words, isn't God aware of the disparity between his suffering, righteous children and the prosperous wicked? We are constantly being deprived, while the foolish get everything their hearts desire. And God allows it all to continue!
I’M PREACHING TO REAL FOLKS TODAY!
Have you ever wondered why it seems like blessings are heaped on people who live like devils? Perhaps you've felt this way because some ungodly coworker has been rewarded instead of you. Or maybe you've wondered how your unconverted neighbor could ever afford his expensive car and new furniture. Meanwhile, you work hard at your job, as unto the Lord pay you tithes, study the Word of God, give to the needy and you're having to figure out ways to stretch a dollar.
According to our human thinking, life should be as follows: If we give everything to God, we should have a clear path to glory; nothing should get in our way no suffering and no trials. Sadly, there are some people who preach this very kind of sugar-coated doctrine. When the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us”.
Psalm 73:13 says, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency”.
Asaph was so confused by his sufferings in comparison to the easy life of the wicked, he nearly slipped into unbelief. He was ready to accuse God of forsaking him of abandoning him, of not being concerned. And for a moment he was ready to throw in the towel, quit and give up completely.
The temptation of Doubt had him thinking I have been doing right and enduring hardships all this time it is for nothing! All my strictness, my diligence, my praising and worshiping, my study of God's word it has been useless. I have done like I am supposed to do and yet I continue to suffer! He asked What's the use of going on?
When you are tempted with doubt, when a trial comes upon you, when you are grieving and dealing with the everyday struggles in life you need to guard your heart against slipping into unbelief!
You may not be in Asaph's condition at a point of great personal testing and troubles. But you may know someone who is going through what he endured. Doubt may have come upon you and someone is struggling dealing with it and maybe even asked Why, God? How could you allow this?
That is when Satan came along, bringing lies: See what you get for being so strict about your walk with God? This is how he treats you when you trust him for direction. He lets you become confused about his voice and he gives you fake guidance! He lets you hear voices and see words from the scriptures. And then, when you're finally ready to move in, he abandons you. He leads you on, and then he drops you!
Do not let your faith be shaken! Don't lose your confidence in God. Regardless of what it may look like God is still on the throne, God is still in control!
When Asaph thought about all these things, he finally came to the point where he made a decision: he said “it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God ".
Psalm 73:16-17 says, “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end”. Asaph said, I'm not giving up. I'm going to the sanctuary. God has my answer!
So he went to the temple. And as he meditated on the Lord, he kept telling himself, "I'm not going to let the devil make me fall. I'm not going to slip into unbelief. I'm going to pray and have a little talk with Jesus and tell him all my troubles"
18th verse That is when the Holy Spirit spoke to Asaph. And the answer came loud and clear: “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction”. Asaph realized, "I'm not the one who's slipping. The wicked are slipping. They're going straight into destruction!"
The Lord was telling this man, "Your problem, Asaph, is that you've been looking at their outward appearances the false dream, the bubble they're living in. You've never seen the terror in their hearts! .”they are utterly consumed with terrors” 19th verse.
God was showing Asaph, things aren’t what they seem! If you could see behind their wealth and facades, you'd realize they're living in panic and terror. All these wicked people who look so happy who spend their time living riotously like they don’t have a care in the world go home each night with panic and dread in their hearts. Deep down they know one day they're going to stand before God at the judgment. They're living in a dream world and suddenly their dream will end!"
God was saying to Asaph, you may feel despised right now, you have doubt now, but when you stand before me, you are going to rewarded and they shall be judged.
Suddenly Asaph has a change - in verses 21-22, Asaph began to feel pity and grief for those wicked people who seemed so blessed. His doubt changed “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked [convicted] in my reins [heart]. So foolish was I...".
In other words: "How could I ever have been envious of them? Their dream world is really a life of hidden terror and fear, and of eternal loss. They'll live a few years in their dream world, but I have the eternal life! I have a heavenly father who cares about me, no matter what I go through. And when I stand before his throne, I'll hear him say, Well done, good and faithful servant enter into the joys of the Lord."
Asaph finally began to see the whole picture and he turned his doubt into rejoicing. Verse 26 – 28 says “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works”.
CLOSING:- So how did Asaph turn his doubt into Joy.
1. He got in the presence of the Lord. He said until I went to the sanctuary of the Lord. You want to turn doubt into joy then - Get into the presence of the Lord. Psalm 16:11 says “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.
2. He changed his focus. Psalm 121:1-2 says “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth”. Take your eyes off other people and focus on Jesus.
3. Pray Philippians 4:6-7 says “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. In your praying tell God what you feel – remember He is not intimidated by your questions.
4. Stand on Truth John 17:17 says “your word is truth,” and Romans 10:17 says “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith is the opposite of doubt; therefore, the way to get rid of doubt (emotional or intellectual) is to replace your doubts with truth. Truth I am more than a conqueror.
So if you find yourself doubting, there’s nothing to be ashamed of; you just need to find out how to deal with it. 1st Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
