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This is the audio from the May 21, 2023 sermon, “Finding Help When You Doubt: A Time To ASK!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Judges 6:13-40, Mark 9:19-29

Today I continued a sermon series about finding help in our times of need.  Today we focused on finding help when we doubt.  Doubt is such a natural part of the human experience that we often fail to realize just how much of it has crept into our life.  Even when we want to believe God, the seeds of doubt try to take root and grow.  The good news is that our doubt doesn’t take God by surprise.  When we find ourselves in the midst of doubt, we should turn to God and discover a time to . . .

• Admit Weakness:  —

  • Neither the father whose son had an evil spirit nor Gideon had the power to do what they wanted.  Their doubt required them to admit they were week and needed God’s help.  Even when we have a growing level of belief, in order to find the help we need we must admit to God, and to our self, that we have doubt.  When God called Gideon to be His instrument of saving the Israelites from their enemies, Gideon had some serious doubt about whether he was the right person for the job.  He was willing to admit his weakness and acknowledge a need for help.  When we look for help in our times of doubt, we must begin by admitting we need God’s help to believe as we ought.

• Seek help: —

  • While the first step of receiving help may well be in admitting we need it, the importance of seeking that help must not be overlooked.  The boy’s father in the Mark text knew there were doubts in the belief he had so he asked Jesus to help his unbelief in addition to helping his son.  The task Gideon was being asked by God to be involved in was so large that Gideon not only sought God’s help, but he repeatedly sought confirmation that God was indeed with Him.  When we look for help in our times of doubt, we would do well to seek out the One who can help.

• Know Results:  —

  • Both of the main characters in our texts for today received the help they needed when they were willing to admit they needed help and sought God to provide that help.  We too can know the results of finding help when we doubt when we go to God and ask for His help.  The father had his son restored to him and the nation of Israel was delivered from their enemy as a result of finding help in the midst of doubt.  When we look to God for help in our times of doubt, we can be sure that our continued trust in Him will produce the results that are best from His perspective.

Today, when you doubt, how will you ASK?