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What to Do With Doubt
69
Even in this life God wants to be ever opening the truth of His
Word to His people. There is only one way we can receive these
truths. We can understand God’s Word only through the light that
comes from His Spirit. “Only God’s Spirit knows all about God.”
“The Spirit searches everything, even the hidden depths of God’s
purposes.”
1 Corinthians 2:11, 10
.
The Saviour’s promise to His followers was “When ... the Spirit
comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the
truth.... He will take what I say and tell it to you.”
John 16:13, 14
.
God wants us to use our reasoning powers. The study of the
Bible will strengthen these powers and lift our minds as no other
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study can. Yet we must be careful not to make reason a god, for it
can be as weak as the human mind or body.
We must have the simple faith of a little child who is ready to
learn. We must ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. Then we will
have a clearer understanding of the truths of the Bible.
We are made humble when we realize how wise God is. His
greatness and power are beyond our understanding. We should open
His Word as though we were coming before God Himself. In Bible
study, reason must see a power greater than itself. Heart and mind
must bow before the God who spoke of Himself as the great I AM.
Many things at first seem hard to understand. But God will make
them plain to us if we ask Him for understanding. The Holy Spirit
will guide us and help us not to change the meaning of the Scriptures
or to misunderstand them.
Sometimes when people read the Bible, it does not help them. It
may even do them harm. Doubts come into the mind when the Word
of God is studied without prayer. Our thoughts must be fixed on God
when we open the Bible. We must be ready to follow His leading,
for without God’s help our minds may be clouded with doubt. Then
Bible study could lead to unbelief.
Satan guides the thoughts when people do not ask for God’s help
as they study the Bible. They may make mistakes in understanding
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the Scriptures no matter how well educated they may be. It is not
safe to trust what they say the Word means unless they are obeying
God.
Some people read the Bible to try to find mistakes. They have
not given their hearts to God, so they think they find many reasons