How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.
-1 Kings 18:21
The Bible is filled with accounts illuminating the bi-polar nature of mankind.
The heroes and heroines we read about and admire were men and women blessed by God and called by Him to accomplish great feats of faith. They were also human beings who struggled with the same doubts and fears we experience today. Their very frailty endears them to us and magnifies the power of the King who strengthened them for the journey.
Like us, some of their suffering was self-inflicted and avoidable.
Elijah, the prophet of God, single-handedly defied a powerful queen and called fire down from heaven. He rebuked the nation of Israel for “hesitating between two opinions.” Then he ran to the desert and begged to die.
Gideon needed not one miraculous sign, but two, that God was indeed speaking to him.
Peter swore allegiance to the death for Jesus, only to deny Him three times before the dawn.
All the disciples deserted Jesus at His arrest.
Thomas refused to believe in His resurrection until he saw the scars on His body.
The list goes on.
Hebrews 10:23 encourages us to hold on to our faith “without wavering.”
According to Bible scholar John MacArthur, the same Greek term for “without wavering” was used in ancient literature to describe the enduring of torture.
Sometimes the worst torture comes from within. Wavering in our faith is painful. Tormenting ourselves with doubts and fears suspends us in a purgatory of our own making, afraid to trust God but unable to deny Him. The remedy is so easy and so incredibly hard. The very simplicity of it turns our knuckles white.
God calls us to believe, to resist the impulse to overthink God and live in fear. Love Him. To trust Him, and to persevere always, enduring the torture rather than deny His name.
Mostly, He calls us to hold onto hope.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
– Hebrews 10:23
