Scripture: Jude 17-24
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own
ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Fighting doubt is no easy task, as you’ve been seeing. As we get to this last day, let’s review where we’ve gone. We want to celebrate what God has done, and lean into Him in greater dependence. We began the week in the prison cell of shame, where we fought the quiet, relentless voice that tells you you’re “not enough.” We came out of the prison cell through Romans 8, with Jesus silencing every accusation and the verdict of the resurrection covering your sentence.
On Day 23, you were hiding behind locked doors out of fear. And then Jesus came right in and broke fear with the words, “Peace to you.” When Jesus comes, fear has nowhere to go but out.
On Day 24, doubt was lying to you that sin still owns you. Then, resurrection truth shouted back that your old self had died, and your new life is real. Resurrection truth reminded doubt that sin’s dominion ended when Jesus came out of the grave.
We needed Day 25. Oh, that reminder that Jesus didn’t give up on you. Because truth be told, doubt had you wanting to give up many times. And like Jonah, we run, resisted, and hardened ourselves to God’s love and plans. Doubt convinced us that there was an easier, better way. On this day, you remembered that the greater Jonah, Jesus, never walks away from stubborn, fearful, inconsistent people like you and me. And every whisper of “God is done with you” died here.
The voice of doubt was testing you again on Day 26. “On what are you resting this trust of yours?” But then you heard the answer, for the resurrection is God’s final answer to every accusation that He won’t come through. You remembered who God is, and trust began to grow again. Ah, but the promise of a “better life” came at you hard and fast.
And that’s why Day 27 was critical, where the resurrection exposed the lie that there is a better life outside of what God has for you. You saw clearly that surrendering to doubt always leads to exile, not freedom.
You were able to stop pretending on Day 28. God’s answer to your doubt didn’t come in a shout, but in a whisper. That was ok, because His whisper is enough.
The second wave of doubt hit you on Day 29. The letter arrived that you dreaded, and the pressure returned. But instead of breaking, you spread it out before the Lord. This was the day you learned the secret of resurrection faith, that you don’t silence doubt by arguing with it. Instead, you silence doubt by bringing it into God’s presence.
What if none of this were true? This is where the celebration becomes even sweeter, because you know what your life would look like without the truths you encountered this week. If shame still ruled, you’d still be living in that prison cell, rehearsing your failures instead of resting in grace. If fear still owned you, you’d still be hiding behind locked doors, convinced the worst was coming. If sin still held dominion, you’d still be drowning under habits you hate and sins you can’t shake. If Jesus gave up on people like Jonah, you’d still be running, still resisting, still believing your story was over.
If trust were impossible, you’d still be listening to the Rabshakeh’s voice, the voice that tells you God won’t come through. If doubt’s lies still stood, you’d still be chasing a “better life” that never delivers. If collapse were final, you’d still be pretending you’re okay while your soul quietly disintegrates under the weight of the load you are carrying. If the second wave had the final word, you’d still be carrying burdens you were never meant to hold.
But none of that is your story, right? At least not anymore. At least not right now, not this week. Why? Because you got your act together and are now strong enough? No, because you have a risen Christ who is at work in you. At here we end, with our passage from Jude. Jude reminds us that it’s not our strength or works that are keeping us, but God. Your answer then to the challenge of doubt is in the keeping power of God, who is able to keep what He began.
Jude’s letter begins with that reminder that we have been kept for Jesus Christ. Not only are we kept for Jesus, but we are also kept by Jesus. And this is key when it comes to fighting your doubts long term. Ultimately, doubt will not prevail over you because of who keeps you, and why He keeps you.
Now, some of you reading these devotionals may be wondering why we need all this focus on doubt. You yourself don’t struggle with it that much. And you might wonder why others do. Verse 21 reminds us to have mercy on those who doubt. It can be easy to be dismissive of others who are struggling with doubts and lose patience with them. It’s tempting to look down on them and move on. But we cannot do this because we are loved and kept by Jesus. He does not do this with us, and we are not to do it either.
The security you need for the doubts you face is found in verses 24-25. Jesus is able to keep you from falling. As Jude speaks of God’s ability to keep His people from falling, He does not say that God might keep you from falling. He says that God will keep you. God is not promising that you will not sin, but He is promising that you will be kept from apostatizing and from doubt pulling you away from Jesus so that you would be forever lost.
Giving into doubt makes us hang our heads in shame. But Jesus will enable us to stand as blameless before the Father. Doubt will not have the last word because the resurrected Jesus will. So, we end this devotional not with your strength, but with God’s keeping power. Jude begins by saying you have been kept for Jesus Christ, and he ends by saying you are kept by Jesus Christ. This is the anchor of your fight against doubt, that you are held by a Savior who refuses to let you go. Jude doesn’t hand you a list of spiritual tasks to perform, but what he give is a Savior who performs them for you.
Jesus is the One who brings you back when shame pulls you away. Jesus is the One who steadies you when fear shakes you and who covers you when sin accuses you. Therefore, every step you took this week, even the trembling and weak ones, were carried by His strength, not yours. Jesus keeps you from falling, not because you never waver, not because you never doubt, and not because you never struggle. But because Jesus never stops keeping you, and keeps you when shame rises and when the fear comes. He keeps you when the second wave hits, when doubt whispers, when everything you’ve built on collapses, and when you can’t keep yourself.
And one day, the same Jesus who kept you through every dark night will present you before the Father, blameless, joyful, and fully His. Doubt will not have the last word. The resurrected Christ will.
Pastor Josh
Jude says we are “kept for Jesus Christ” and “kept by Jesus Christ.” How does knowing that Jesus is the One who keeps you reshape the way you think about your doubts,weaknesses, and failures?
Throughout this week, Jesus met you in shame, fear, sin, collapse, and the second wave. Which moment of His keeping power felt most personal to you — and why?
Jude calls us to show mercy to those who doubt because Jesus has shown mercy to us. How might remembering Jesus’ mercy toward you change the way you respond to someone else who is struggling?
Reread these devotions, especially in the areas where you struggle with doubt
or where it hits you again.
