Doubt

Genesis 3:1-6a <NLT>

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

 The woman was convinced.

And so it began. This entire exchange between Eve and Satan is only about six verses long. That’s it. Depending on the translation you look at there are over 31,000 verses in the Bible. But these six verses certainly tell a big story.

What do these verses tell us about Satan “the serpent”? God made him. He was shrewd. And may I suggest that he is perhaps a bit lazy? I know, based on exposure to modern film, books, and media I have this vision or idea of him being really busy and loud and really REALLY scary. Those things could be true as well but when I read these passages I see him as lazy. Cleaver and lazy…a very dangerous combination. Yes, he could have got in Eve’s face and scared her into eating the apple. He could have threatened her into it. There are so many things he could have done but he didn’t. All he did was say, “Did God really say…?”

That is all it took. He planted a seed of doubt and pretty soon after that he leaves the scene. And the rest is…well shall we say…history.

Doubt. That may be our biggest enemy. With doubt comes fear. Fear clouds reason. Without reason, logic and truth are forgotten. Where logic and truth are void: faith becomes fruitless.

Jesus said in Matthew 21:21 “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.”

Often I find myself wishing I trusted God more. Knowing if I could only do that, I wouldn’t worry about things as much. Yet, I wonder. Is it that I lack trust or is that I wallow in doubt?