Doubt.....

This morning as I was on my way to work, I passed a Church Sign that read: “Doubt can destroy what God wants to accomplish through you”. Thankfully, I saw the green light I was approaching turn to yellow out of the corner of my eye as I was reading the sign. Otherwise, I would have plowed into the back of the massive Ford Excursion that was slowing to a stop in front of me. Looking back now, I see the irony of what almost happened. The words on that sign hit me with the force that my compact SUV and I would have felt if we had slammed into that Excursion. Isn’t it amazing how God can do things like that? He can take something as simple as a Church Sign on the side of the road to bring us the insights and realizations that we so desperately need.
Though it may sound egotistical or self-centered, I know in my heart that the words on that Church Sign were meant for me. You see, for the past few days I’ve been plagued by DOUBT. I’ve been wondering, questioning, second-guessing, and plain-old doubting that I am doing what God wants me to do. About a month ago, God told me to start a charitable organization called Bear Hugs Brigade. Going against my normal mode of operation, I did what He said to do with very little hesitation or argument. Normally, that’s not how I do things! I usually question every little detail over and over, subconsciously trying to convince God that I’m probably not the best choice for the task He has in mind. This time it was different…He said “Robert, do this for me” and I immediately replied “Yes, Sir!” I was really kind of surprised by my own willingness. I guess it was probably silly of me to not realize that, at some point, the doubts and questioning would eventually rear their ugly heads.
In the month that has passed since our initial conversation, God has allowed Bear Hugs Brigade to grow far beyond my limited expectations and He has begun to open doors for us that I never could have imagined. I guess it should come as no surprise to me that Satan would choose now to flood my mind with fears, doubts, and questions…

“Is this really what God wants you to do?”
“What if you can’t meet the demand if this continues to grow?”
“What if you can’t rely on more than the “faithful few” to help support your vision?”
“What if there isn’t as large a need as you think?”
“Teddy Bears………..seriously?!?!?!?”

It’s hard to think of these questions and not feel at least a slight sense of discouragement. That’s where I have been for the past couple of days. But, as He is prone to do, God has used the past couple of days (and a Church Sign) to teach me a very valuable lesson. If you stop and think about what that sign said: “Doubt can destroy what God wants to accomplish through you”, you may say “Wait a minute, NOTHING can destroy what God wants to accomplish”. That’s very true. However, this statement is conditional because of the phrase “through you”. God can and will accomplish anything He wants, but if you doubt that He can do it “through you”, then He may simply choose to accomplish it through someone else, someone else who has more faith than doubt. LIGHT BULB!!!!! I get it. I realize that regardless of what the answers to the above questions may be, if I allow them to bring doubt into my mind and heart, God may choose to accomplish His task through someone else. With that realization comes the knowledge that I’m not willing to let that happen. I believe with all my heart that God wanted Bear Hugs Brigade to come to be so that it could fill a real and valid need. I also believe, for whatever reason, He chose me to help accomplish this task. I have no intention of letting doubt destroy my chance to be a part of it. I could not be more humbly grateful for the opportunity, the responsibility, and that Church Sign I passed on the way to work this morning.