In Touch Ministries

Dr. Charles Stanley: Waver in your faith, you don't obey God in your family, you don't do what God tells you to do, your children are going to suffer. What we don't realize is that our disobedience and our wavering faith and our unwillingness to obey God when He challenges us to do something that is, listen, that's taxing, that's challenging, that doesn't fit human reason or whatever it might be, when we don't ask Him and believe Him, listen, it's costly to waver in your faith because you and I don't realize what we lose in the process.

Guest (Male): Nothing is as certain as God's faithfulness. But when things don't work out as we expect, we can feel haunted by the question, where's God and why hasn't He done anything yet? Today's edition of In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, addresses those nagging fears and looks at the consequences of doubting God. In part two of "When Our Faith Wavers," let's join Dr. Stanley for his message.

Dr. Charles Stanley: By faith we are saved. By faith we experience forgiveness for our sins. By faith we have a personal relationship with God. By faith our prayers are answered. By faith we experience peace. By faith we experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. And by faith we face death fearlessly. And by faith we have the assurance of our salvation.

And so therefore when you and I come to Him and we doubt Him and we waver in our faith, we wonder oftentimes why is it God doesn't answer our prayer? Why is it we don't receive the things we're asking for? Could it be that instead of having faith we have hope-so's and maybe-so's and I think-so's rather than I'm confident and sure that God is hearing and answering my prayer?

Now there's some things we need not waver about. There's some things that are just absolutely dead certain. In Mark 11, listen to what it says: "Whatsoever things you desire when you pray," watch this now, is what he says, "believe that you have already received them," past tense, "and it will be granted to you." You say, "Well now wait a minute, that must be a mistake." No, it's not a mistake.

Listen: "Whatsoever things you desire when you pray," he says when you pray, "believe that you have received them already." That's the tense of the verb. You have already received them and what you believe is already yours will be granted to you. That is perfect faith.

The Bible talks about little faith, great faith. Jesus said, "Why, you of little faith." And He talks about great faith. And in James he talks about the perfection of our faith. The perfection of our faith is that I can walk away believing that it's as good as done because God said it and I believe it and I have no real basic reason for doubting that He's going to do what He said.

Would you not agree that an omniscient God knows the exact perfect time to answer your prayer? Yes. Yes. He knows exactly the right time. So we have to be patient, wait upon Him to show us exactly what He wants to do.

Now let's think about the consequences of wavering faith. That is, what are the consequences? Number one, you waver in your faith, you make wrong decisions. Make wrong decisions. God tells you to do something and you waver in your faith—"I can't do that"—so your decision is, "I'm not going to do it." Or, listen, we camouflage that "I'm not going to do it" by saying, "Well, I'll do it later." That still means "I'm not going to do it."

"Well, I'll do something that's equal to that." That still means "I'm not going to do it." In other words, partial obedience is what? Is disobedience. Partial obedience is disobedience. And so for whatever reason we tell Him we're not going to do it, we don't do it, we make a mistake.

And let me give you an example. God spoke to Abraham and told him to get up out of Haran, leave his family, and go into the promised land, that is, Canaan the promised land. But He says, "I will show you as you go how to get where I want you to be." So he goes, settles down, God provides the way, provides for him, protects him, and so everything's coming along fine.

Suddenly there is a famine in the land. Now this same Abraham who trusted God and God spoke to him right in the middle of a heathen culture—and he didn't have this book, the Bible—and so God spoke to him, he believed God, he followed God's leadership, and God blessed him and got him there.

Now a famine comes to the land. What does he do? He wavers in his faith. Now this omnipotent God who spoke to him so clearly did exactly what He promised. Now because there's less and less and less and things are looking pretty bleak, he decides on his own to go to Egypt.

And when he went to Egypt, he put his wife in a terrible position, to cause her to lie and to have been greatly shamed because he was afraid of his own life. And he just messed it up badly. Why? Because he made a wrong decision. He wavered in his faith and did not do what God told him to do—stay right where you are and watch Me provide for you.

So number one, we make mistakes. You waver in your faith, you back off from what God wants you to do, and what happens is you make a mistake. The second consequence, listen, not only do we make mistakes, it's costly. It's costly when we waver in our faith. Let me give you a good example in the scripture again.

All of us could give personal examples of these. You recall that God had promised the Hebrew people deliverance. Raised up Moses, delivered them out of Egyptian bondage across the Red Sea, down to Sinai to receive the law, and through the wilderness up to the borders of the promised land. And there they are.

And so Moses said, "Let's check it out." Sent 12 spies over. They came back. Two had a good report, 10 had a bad report. Ten said, "We can't go over there. They have walled cities and they're giants in the land. It is just flowing with milk and honey and huge vines of grapes and everything in the world that God has promised. It's all there, but they're walled cities and there are giants in the land. They would just eat us up. They would just consume us and our families."

These are the same people who knew, who'd watched Moses simply take a stick and raise it up in faith to God and the Red Sea opened up, allowed them to cross. And then when they were all crossed, the Egyptian chariots plowed right into the same area and God swallowed them up and absolutely defeated them in just a matter of a few minutes or an hour or so, whatever it took.

But here's what happened: the whole nation wavered in their faith, at least most of them. They said, "Oh, we can't do that. Are we trusting God? Yes, we're trusting God. But listen, you know what? We may lose our families, walled cities, fortresses, armed men, big as giants. No, we can't go."

Well, when I think about the cost of something, I want you to turn back to Numbers 14, and I want to read this because it is so dramatic. This is what it cost them to waver in their faith when they were, listen, on the very brink of the blessing God had promised them. All they've got to do is cross over. And they wavered in their faith, and listen carefully.

Sometimes we waver in our faith in some crucial, critical issues in life and we miss it. Now I want you to see what they missed because on the brink of it, they doubted. Numbers chapter 14, beginning in verse 29: "Your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men according to your complete number from 20 years old and upward who have grumbled against Me.

"Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey, I will bring them in and they will know the land which you have rejected. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.

"Your sons shall be shepherds for 40 years in the wilderness and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until your corpses lie in the wilderness. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, 40 days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even 40 years, and you shall know My opposition." What a horrible, horrible price to pay for wavering in their faith and disobeying God.

Now I want you to listen very carefully. You listen and say amen. Dad, when you waver in your faith, you don't obey God in your family, you don't do what God tells you to do, your children are going to suffer. Wife, mother, God tells you what to do, challenges you in some area of your life, you back off—some critical area—you back off, you say no to God, your children are going to suffer. And husbands and wives are going to suffer.

What we don't realize is that our disobedience and our wavering faith and our unwillingness to obey God when He challenges us to do something that is, listen, that's taxing, that's challenging, that doesn't fit human reason or whatever it might be. When we don't ask Him and believe Him, listen, when God challenges you for something good He wants to do for you, something that He wants to give you and your family, and you say, "Well, you know, I... suppose I fail, suppose I'm wrong and all this kind of stuff," you fail, everyone in the family suffers.

It's costly to waver in your faith because you and I don't realize what we lose in the process. It's very costly. A third thing that happens is this: we begin to be shaken by little things, insignificant things. When you begin to waver in your faith after a while, here's what happens: it doesn't take much to cause you to doubt God.

And before long, you lack real genuine confidence. You don't endure. You're not steadfastly going through life. But it doesn't take much to... "Well, I'm not sure. Well, I'm not certain." It doesn't take much to get you to doubt. You won't take the risk God wants you to take, and taking a risk with God is absolute sure thing every time.

And what happens is you become unsteady. And you see, a person who's wavering, if that's the habit in your prayer life, listen, you will not do many things with certainty and secondly, you will not have the anticipation and the expectancy and the excitement about life that God wants you to have.

Because you have chosen to question Him. You've chosen to disobey Him. And you know what? You're like a walking civil war. That may be—you may feel like it's a little teeny skirmish at times and then at times it's a raging civil war on the inside. "Well, I ought to trust Him. I know I should trust Him. I don't know why I don't trust Him. I want to believe Him here." But you don't.

What kind of expectation, how successful can you be in life if you do not walk with confidence and assurance and boldness? Listen, not in yourself, but in the living God whom you are obeying when He challenges you to do something in your life.

And you know, it's interesting that nothing hindered the Lord Jesus Christ. He was absolute God and so therefore He could do anything and everything. But it's very interesting in the scripture when it comes to how Jesus worked. Listen to what it says: "And He did not many miracles there because of their unbelief."

Listen, do you know what keeps back the miracles in your life? You say, "Well, God doesn't want to do a miracle in my life." How do you know that? How do you know what God wants to do in your life until you let Him do it? Until you position yourself to be blessed. What is that position? Godly living and steadfast faith will get you everything God has for you.

Now I want you to listen very carefully to this next statement so that you do not go away misunderstanding. So I want to ask you the question: are you listening? Say amen. This is very important. This does not mean that every single time you waver, God says, "End of that."

Because remember, when you and I were saved, we grew up knowing very little. And so we learned to pray. How did we learn to pray? We sometimes asked the wrong thing or sometimes we did just what we're talking about. We'd say, "Well, God didn't answer my prayer, therefore He must not be listening."

So what I want you to see is this: and even after we come along in our Christian life and we've been Christians a long time, sometimes God may challenge us to do something that at the moment is so big and so challenging for us that we find ourselves saying, "Well, I'm not sure. Well, I hope so." I'll give you an example in just a moment. "God, I'm trusting You."

What I want you to see is this: that there are times when God sees us genuinely struggling to trust Him because of the issue we're facing, that He, not, listen, not honoring our unbelief, but He, in His grace and mercy, listen, will bypass our struggling wavering faith in order to accomplish His sovereign purpose in our life.

He will not overlook, but He will bypass in grace and mercy, give us not what we deserve, but grace and mercy and kindness. He will give us the desire of our heart, what we're asking, even though at that moment we waver.

Let me give you an example. Probably the biggest challenge in my life in the ministry, the biggest challenge to my faith, was back some many, many years ago when we were asking God to help us to have $3 million toward some property downtown. And we had vowed, and I'd said publicly, "We're not going to borrow any money. We're going to trust God."

Well, that's what I said because that's what I believed and was absolutely certain that's exactly what I knew God was saying to me: "Trust Me for this property, but you can't borrow any money." Well, I could get on my knees and be absolutely certain God was going to do it. I walk out there on Sunday morning and look at both congregations, first service and second service, and think, "Lord, it's a lot of money." That's what I'd say, "It's a lot of money."

And, "God, I don't see it here." You know what the Lord said to me? "It's not for you to see. It's for what I see, not for what you see." So it came down to the time we had four days left. We were lacking $1.3 million. So that Saturday afternoon, I said, "I'm going to take a walk and I'm not coming home till I'm absolutely certain."

You say, "Well, how long did you walk?" A pretty good while. A pretty good while. I walked and I talked to God and I reminded Him what I believe He'd said to me and I watched what He had done already and I recalled that in all those years of my life at that point in the ministry in the Christian life, He never failed me a single time.

And I knew that this was the challenge of my faith. It was the first big public challenge of my faith. I knew that I could have been horribly embarrassed, put the church in a very bad situation financially, embarrassed us all over the city, and probably a lot of folks would have lost faith in me as their pastor.

I walked till I knew that I had to say, "God, I know what I heard. And in spite of whatever else I've heard around me and whatever else I see when I look out there and how much money we need yet to receive and that we only have three days, I'm going to trust You no matter what."

When the time came, had every single penny of it. Every penny of it. Did my faith waver? It was a little tough, I'll have to admit that. So what I want you to see is this: that's okay. God understands. There are some situations and circumstances, listen, when the challenge is awesome.

And sometimes it will be in your life in something that with somebody else it may not be awesome at all, but in your life, in your family, your situation, it's a big deal. Don't discount it. Don't discredit it. Don't try to belittle it. It's a big deal. And you have to decide: are you going to listen to what He says, believe what He says, do what He says, or are you going to back off and miss the blessing?

That was one of the most faith-growing moments of my life. And not only did it grow my faith, but it grew the faith of the entire fellowship at that time because they saw God do what only He could have done. We were committed to not borrowing any money and trusting God for it.

And it's almost like at the last minute, those last few days, three days, God brought it from everywhere. If you ask me where, I couldn't even tell you. I could give you some suggestions of a few things that I saw, but I knew that He had to change some people's minds and hearts.

So you cannot allow little things to cause you to start wavering because there's going to come a big issue in your life. And if you've been in the habit of just saying, "Well, I hope so, maybe so, I think so," when the big issue comes, you've had it. You're going to back off and you're going to miss an awesome blessing in your life.

And I want you to remember this: when you and I back off with wavering faith and we don't do what God tells us, I guarantee you other people will feel the results of it that you don't even realize because you can't live in a capsule. It's not a cocoon. We're the body of Christ—the church, your friends, your family. They watch, they listen to see what God does in your life.

So what are the consequences? Make mistakes, costly mistakes. We begin to let little things bother us. And you see, the truth is the longer you live the Christian life, the stronger your faith ought to be.

And what I've noticed is over the years, some things that would have bothered me back yonder, I would have gotten on my knees and cried out to God and been upset about—you know what? The same things come along and I don't even know they're there because I know that God is in control. He works everything for my good no matter what.

And listen, you should be growing in your faith. Listen carefully: there should be fewer and fewer things in your life that upset you, fewer and fewer things in your life that cause you to doubt God, fewer and fewer things in your life that really challenge you. Because as your faith grows, what happens? Those little things that gnaw at you—"Oh, suppose this happens, suppose he does this, suppose she does that, suppose this decision is made"—so what? God is in control of your life. He's taking care of that.

Guest (Male): Is the foundation of your faith secure enough to withstand the winds of adversity? Today on In Touch, believers were challenged to remember the basis of their faith. It rests on God, who is completely sovereign, infinitely wise, and perfect in love. We'll wrap up Dr. Stanley's message, "When Our Faith Wavers," next time.

To learn more about how to trust God when your world seems to be spinning out of control, stop by intouch.org where you can go over what you just heard at the link to Today on Radio. And if you go to the bookstore page, you can also order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, "When Our Faith Wavers." Again, you'll find these resources at intouch.org.

And to call or text us, the number is simply 1-800-INTOUCH. To write to us, address your letter to In Touch Ministries, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357. Today's message helped us understand the consequences of a faith that wavers. Coming up in today's Moment with Charles Stanley, you'll learn why believers sometimes hesitate to trust God.

Introducing Your Path to Purpose, Passion, and Peace, a new 90-day devotional inspired by the timeless teaching of Dr. Charles Stanley. Available now at intouch.org/store.

Dr. Charles Stanley: The peace of God is tranquility and quietness of the soul. It is the assurance that no matter what's going on around us, everything is secure. Peace is not determined by circumstances, neither is it a matter of chance, but it is a matter of choice.

Guest (Male): In a world filled with noise and uncertainty, you can discover peace that cannot be shaken. Get your new free booklet, Peaceful and Still: A Guide to Experience God's Rest in an Anxious Age. Visit intouch.org/peaceful.

From the Pastor's Heart is an in-depth teaching letter inspired by the teachings of Dr. Charles Stanley. To receive In Touch's From the Pastor's Heart letter, call 1-800-INTOUCH or visit intouch.org/pastorsheart. You're listening to In Touch. What causes a Christian's faith to be unstable? A Moment with Charles Stanley addresses the issue of doubting God.

Dr. Charles Stanley: I think we're intimidated by people, for example. I think there is fear—"Suppose I make a mistake" or "Suppose somebody thinks that I'm trying to be pious and holy." The truth is, you have Christ in you, you are a holy person in God's eyes. And I think we lose our effectiveness because of our attitude about ourselves when we ought to be thinking, "God, here's a wonderful opportunity You've given me to share my faith and to express who You are and the wonderful joy and peace and happiness I have in my life. They know I'm going through this difficulty, but they also see that I'm confident that You're going to see me through it."

The reason is because of something we think about ourselves and rather than keeping our eyes upon Him and asking, "God, what would You have me to do and how do You want me to express this?" It's all self. And that's our biggest enemy. Because the truth is, if you read the New Testament, it's all about sharing our faith, going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature, and all the testimonies and all the witnesses and all the things that Jesus did to express all that He was, He's left us here to do the very same thing.

Guest (Male): Find encouragement to share the gospel with those around us at intouch.org. The Bible says to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Has this program helped you with that? We'd like to know.

Next time on In Touch, we'll get step-by-step instructions on how to strengthen our trust in the Lord. I hope you'll join us next time for In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.