When Trust Wavers: The Quiet Power Of Doubt

Speaker: Rev. Aaron Owen

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Casting doubt is the enemy’s tactic for destroying trust.

Trust is essential for us to deepen our relationship with God. The devil will attempt to thwart or destroy our ability to go deeper with God by getting us to distrust Him by casting doubt.

3 WAYS SATAN CASTS DOUBT IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

1. Doubt in God’s PERSON (v.3-4)

• Satan tempts Jesus to question whether the Father is good & will meet His needs

• Satan similarly tempts us to question God’s Character – is He really good? Does He really love me? Can I trust Him? Maybe I need to look out for myself because God isn’t going to look after me.

2. Doubt in God’s PROMISES (v.5-7)

• Satan tempts Jesus to question: Can you really trust the Father? How do you know His promises are reliable?

• Satan tempts us to stress test God as a means to grasp at certainty & control over a situation.

3. Doubt in God’s PLANS & PURPOSES (v.8-10)

• Satan tempts Jesus with a pain-free way to get to the end result of bringing all the nations & kingdoms of the world under His authority & rule.

• Satan tempts us to get our desired results by bypassing God’s plans & purposes.