Acts 11:12
"Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house."
God touched Peter with a strange dream, one in which he was invited to eat animals which had been deemed as unclean for Israel according to the Mosaic law. In this dream, the Spirit tells Peter that God had ordained the cleansing of Gentiles and directs him to the house of Cornelius to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
According to Peter's recollection of this event, Cornelius sent six men to invite Peter to come to his house. Prior to their arrival, the Spirit tells Peter to doubt nothing. Of course no good Jew would ever enter the house of a Gentile, much less eat with them, so this was surely a disconcerting time in Peter's life. Why would the Spirit tell him to eat with Gentiles?
I think we'd all agree there are times we'd like to hear directly from God. But Peter did, and still, he doubted. Maybe it was the dream. Surely a dream is not a very reliable way to hear from God. We've all experienced some pretty wild dreams and would never accuse God of being their author.
Or maybe Peter doubted the dream's content. While he knew it was from God, it didn't line up with his religious heritage and upbringing. Most of us are like that. If we heard a doctrine preached in our home church or from our parents, it must be truth, even when there is no real scriptural basis for the teaching.
What we can know is the Spirit touched Peter in such a way he left with these men in obedience to God's direction. I'd like to say that the Spirit removed all of Peter's doubt, but I suspect that wasn't the case. Most likely, the Spirit gave Peter the encouragement he needed to be obedient, even in the face of his doubts.
As believers, we all face doubts. Sometimes these are intense and all-consuming. Other times, they're fleeting thoughts, unresolved and ready to raise their heads at another moment's notice. We wonder if our faith is sufficient for salvation. We accuse God of not paying enough attention to our lives. We ponder what is perceived as differences between science and our faith. We all doubt.
Even having the Spirit within us does not remove all doubt. But like Peter, the Spirit is there to encourage us to act even in the face of our doubts.
The next time you encounter a doubt, remember the Spirit and pray God would either remove all doubt or give you the strength you need to remain faithful in the face of doubt.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for Spirit's encouragement to keep true to the faith even in the face of the doubts that are thrust upon us and which I conjure up in my own mind. I give you freedom to remove all doubt, and if you choose otherwise, I ask for your strengthening so that I'd be faithful to you. Amen.
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