I need an antidote, please

Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (Psalm 94:16-19)

Renewed hope is found at the feet of Jesus. When we really 'cry out' to him, do we find ourselves just hanging there? No, because God knows our hearts are hungering and thirsting for him to intervene, build us up in broken places, and set us back on a right course once again. We might feel like we are 'slipping' time and time again, but whenever we call out for his assistance, he comes through. There is no evil that will befall us, no strategy formed against us that can take him by surprise or overwhelm him. 

Doubts often fill our minds, especially in the midst of conflict or hardship. We find ourselves kind of wallowing in all the 'what if' scenarios way too long, getting ourselves all worked up over things imagined. God's presence hasn't left us; we just took our eyes off his face. It is easy for doubt to run amuck in our lives, isn't it? One seed of doubt actually produces a mighty big crop! Deal with doubt when it first arises and you might not find those 'trees of doubt' dropping all those new 'seeds of doubt' in your life!

Who will protect us? Jesus. Who will stand against all who oppose us? Jesus. Who delivers from the grave? Jesus. The more we hear his name as the answer to every one of our doubts and worries, the better equipped we will be to use his name to ward off those attacks. There is nothing 'magic' in his name, but there is something that happens when we utter it. The enemy of our souls is intimidated, downright afraid of the power behind that name. Nothing can stand against him - nothing imagined or real.

When doubts fill our minds - turn to him for the renewal of hope. Doubts are really the opposite of hope. Isn't it neat that God has an antidote for every one of our negative habits? Worry - give it to him - Peace. Doubts - seek him - Hope. Regrets - confess them to him - Restoration. All we imagine as 'negative' can be turned to a 'positive' in his presence. Seek him. Find his hope and renewal. You won't regret it. Just sayin!