When attacked by Satan, we will be tempted to give up on God’s promises. Those realities that we know and have experienced about the sufficiency and ability of God will seem distant to us when the burdens of life are close. So in our hearts we will question God (though we likely would not do so verbally).
We are prone, so very prone, to echo the words of the father of the demon-possessed child who responded to Jesus’ claim, “all things are possible to him who believes”
with the plaintive cry, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
We believe the Lord in the sense that we are convinced cognitively that what is declared in the pages of Scripture are actually and fully true, but emotively, we struggle — “will He do what He has promised for me?” And that question is to ask whether Romans 8:28 is true for me. Is He really working all things together for good for me, His follower? Is He really working to conform me to the image of Christ so that I will be more faithful, more sanctified, more trusting in days ahead?
To ask those questions is to ask the question, “Is He really God and is He really a rewarder of those who seek Him (Heb. 11:6)?” When we ask these questions we are contemplating whether God is loving (does He care about our condition?), wise (does He know what is best for us?), and sovereign (can He do what is loving and wise?).
The answer to all three of those questions is an unshakable “Yes!”
Jerry Bridges provides a helpful comment on this topic (in his tremendously helpful book, Trusting God): “In order to trust God, we must always view our adverse circumstances through the eyes of faith, not of sense. And just as the faith of salvation comes through hearing the message of the gospel (Romans 10:17), so the faith to trust God in adversity comes through the Word of God alone. It is only in the Scriptures that we find an adequate view of God’s relationship to and involvement in our painful circumstances. It is only from the Scriptures applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that we receive the grace to trust God in adversity.”
So how might we put on the shield of faith? How might we protect ourselves from the temptations of Satan to doubt the goodness, wisdom, and ability of God? By meditating on the realities of the character of God in His Word and consciously (moment-by-moment, when necessary) telling ourselves that what He has revealed about Himself is true, and He will accomplish His purposes.
Words of Grace 