Free Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer Page B

doubt and unbelief together as if they are one and the same. Actually although they can be connected, the two are very different things.
    Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words partially defines doubt in the verb form as "...to stand in two ways...implying uncertainty which way to take,...said of believers whose faith is small....being anxious, through a distracted state of mind, of wavering between hope and fear...."1
    The same dictionary notes that one of the two Greek words translated as unbelief "is always rendered 'disobedience' in the R.V." (the Revised Version of the King James translation).2
    As we look then at these two powerful tools of the enemy, we see that doubt causes a person to waver between two opinions, whereas unbelief leads to disobedience.
    I think it is going to be helpful to be able to recognize exactly what the devil is trying to attack us with. Are we dealing with doubt or with unbelief?
    DOUBT
    ...How long will you halt and limp between two opinions?.... 1 Kings 18:21
    I heard a story that will shed light on doubt.
    There was a man who was sick and who was confessing the Word over his body, quoting healing Scriptures and believing for his healing to manifest. While doing so, he was intermittently attacked with thoughts of doubt.
    After he had gone through a hard time and was beginning to get discouraged, God opened his eyes to the spirit world. This is what he saw: a demon speaking lies to him, telling him that he was not going to get healed and that confessing the Word was not going to work. But he also saw that each time he confessed the Word, light would come out of his mouth like a sword, and the demon would cower and fall backward.
    As God showed him this vision, the man then understood why it was so important to keep speaking the Word. He saw that he did have faith, which is why the demon was attacking him with doubt.
    Doubt is not something God puts in us. The Bible says that God gives every man a .. measure of faith (Romans 12:3 KJV ). God has placed faith in our heart, but the devil tries to negate our faith by attacking us with doubt.
    Doubt comes in the form of thoughts that are in opposition to the Word of God. This is why it is so important for us to know the Word of God. If we know the Word, then we can recognize when the devil is lying to us. Be assured that he lies to us in order to steal what Jesus purchased for us through His death and resurrection.
    DOUBT AND UNBELIEF
    [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.
    He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb.
    No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised. Romans 4:18-21
    When I am in a battle, knowing what God has promised and yet being attacked with doubt and unbelief, I like to read or meditate on this passage.
    Abraham had been given a promise by God that He would cause him to have an heir from his own body. Many years had come and gone and still there was no child as a result of Abraham and Sarah's relationship.
    Abraham was still standing in faith, believing what God had said would come to pass. As he stood, he was being attacked with thoughts of doubt, and the spirit of unbelief was pressing him to disobey God.
    Disobedience in a situation like this can simply be to give up when God is prompting us to press on. Disobedience is disregarding the voice of the Lord, or whatever God is speaking to us personally, not just transgressing the Ten Commandments.
    Abraham continued to