Doubt Is the Enemy of Imagination
By Rick Warren
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:5-7 (NIV)
Doubt is the enemy of imagination.
When you were a kid, you had a great imagination. But the older you get, the more your imagination grows rusty. You stop imagining what things could be, and you just start living the way they are. You get stuck in the status quo, which is Latin for “the mess we’re in.”
Doubt and fear neutralize what God wants to do in your life. It takes courage to imagine. Do you know why most people don’t imagine? Because they’re afraid of failure.
Every great thing that we did at Saddleback Church, I was scared to death to do. But I just said we were going to do it anyway. Why? Because I’m not about to let fear dominate my life. So I move forward, trembling.
Courage is when you do the right thing while you are afraid. Sometimes it’s doing the thing you fear the most! You may wonder, “Should I wait until all my doubts are gone?” But you have to move against your fears. You have to ignore all the insecurity you’re feeling and just go for it.
James 1:5-7 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (NIV).
Your imagination is either going to be governed by fear or it’s going to be governed by faith. That’s your choice. If you let your imagination be governed by fear, then you’re going to go around being freaked out, stressed out, and worried all the time. When you allow fear to control your imagination, you live a miserable life.
Instead decide that you’re not going to allow fear to dominate. Let your faith dominate. Trust in God. Then you can move forward in faith and allow your imagination to be filled with all kinds of possibilities—because all things are possible with God.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Are you ready to live with more freedom, joy, and impact?
That’s what you’ll discover how to do in Pastor Rick Warren’s 6-session, *video-based Bible study Daring Faith.
Complete with a study guide and devotion for each day, this study will help you learn how to . . . expect the best, build a life of faith, stretch your imagination, take initiative, face your fears, and trust God while you’re waiting.
So request your copy of Daring Faith when you give a gift today to help more people break free from fear and find their hope in Jesus through Daily Hope.
*Video is available in DVD or streaming formats. The workbook will be mailed to you.
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
