The world around us affects us in so many negative ways and we all need to begin to see these influences for what they are. And not just this present world systems that are corrupted but also our human nature – the natural state of mankind which is tuned into its influence and has consequently become utterly deceived. And these all feed off of each other into a downward spiral, leading humanity toward destruction. As followers of God the Father and Jesus Christ we understand the ultimate source of it all is Satan, the ultimate source of corruption. Humanity is tuned into his influence and subject to his deception.
We’re told from God’s word that it all started in pride developing in a powerful angelic being named Lucifer and then step by step ended up in a defiant rebellion against the family of God involving one-third of the angelic realm. Negative traits must have developed in these angelic beings over time, but how and why? There was nothing that they could point to legitimately, to justify their position on whatever it was that got them so riled up. God didn’t lie or mislead them in any way. His character makes that impossible for Him.
Long before these angels developed anger, hatred, bitterness and competition, they must have allowed a certain state of mind to develop, a state of mind called suspicion. This suspicious mindset somehow became embedded into there thought processes. Possibly through lies coming from Satan which began working on them to a point where all of those other negative aspects, such as anger and competition, could develop. It was ripe ground. They grew in suspicion of God for some reason. Possibly because of His plan for humanity being revealed to them, but we don’t know that for sure.
So I’d like for us to consider the subject of suspicion. What is it? What can it do to us, and how can we overcome it? We’ll also consider an example that’s laid out for us in God’s word of someone who had what we might call “justifiable suspicion”. But we will see that he wasn’t ruled by it.
Suspicion simply means, “a feeling of mistrust.” It can indeed be based on proven past behaviors or actions, but it’s often just simply a feeling that someone’s guilty of doing something wrong. But, without hard evidence. It may be an educated feeling, meaning we may know a lot about how someone thinks. We may have experienced wrong attitudes or actions directly or otherwise from another person, so that we don’t trust them either in the present or in the future. You don’t have to go very far in human history to find this.
Think about how you would you feel if your boss suddenly became buddy, buddy with his bright new employee, spending no more time with you? Are we about to be nudged out of our job? Or parents, your teenager all of a sudden is entirely too helpful around the house. Right? He wants to help you out. What has he done or what does he want? There are thousands of ways in which we can feel threatened, used, and deceived. Suspicions are a primal fear that someone will take what is ours or what we feel should be ours, leaving us out. Perhaps that we’re going to be harmed or cheated in some way.
When we’re a young child we start out wanting to believe the best in everyone. We’re trusting and open. But very soon we begin to develop suspicion and skepticism. Life’s experiences and failings within relationships begin to build walls, and we build what we believe will be a protective shield of suspicion to keep people at arm’s length. And that distance varies depending on various circumstances, but this is really the natural state of humanity at this time. The problem is that with long enough exposure and without some of the key tools to help manage this tendency, it’s very, very easy to tilt way out of balance in this area. And it affects our ability to truly love and accept other people.
When you’re constantly suspicious of people, then there’s no room for trust, and when there’s no room for trust, there’s no real relationship. You spend your life waiting for the other shoe to drop, which it does. It will because it’s inevitable in this life. But it doesn’t hurt as much, if we’ve allowed that suspicious nature to harden us. We become callous.
So, suspicion really leads down a slippery slope. It can become a strong hold in our lives when we refuse to put God first, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, and to allow God to protect us. When suspicion becomes a stronghold, it prevents us from seeing the potential within others.
This may seem a simplistic answer, but there really is only one way to avoid becoming this way and that is through love. When we walk in love, we’re above suspicion. We don’t allow this stronghold to control our thinking. I do want to be clear that I’m not saying to just blindly trust all people, regardless of what they say and do. Especially those who are blatantly out to harm others. Walking in love doesn’t mean that we neglect discernment. It does mean that suspicion should not control us to the point that we allow it to negatively affect relationships.
So, within that overarching context of love, I’ve listed three distinct principles that can help us avoid and overcome suspicion. Principles for us to think about:
- Be ready to believe the best of every person.
Look for good in someone and pray about the rest. Be ready to believe the best: Love “bears up under anything and everything that comes. Is ever ready to believe the best of every person. Its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything without weakening” (1 Corinthians 13:7 AMPC).
- Forgive each other.
Resolve problems between one another before suspicion takes over. Because we are taught to pray: “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12 NLT).
And Jesus says: “…love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36 ESV). So, we can still hate evil, and we can even avoid evil doers. But we’re also told to love our enemy, showing kindness and mercy but have a forgiving heart towards others.
- Have faith in God’s protection.
He is going to protect his people. They’re His children. There are all kinds of passages we could read that establish that fact. Here are just two: “…the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). And: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom…” (2 Timothy 4:18 ESV).
Now I’d like to just take a minute and look at these points in action:
Saul had been persecuting the church, and he was struck down and blinded by Christ, and a member in Damascus named Ananias is told in a vision to go meet Saul. And you can imagine the hesitancy of Ananias when he’s told to meet and assist this known murderer of God’s people. Put yourself in that position. I mean, really, put yourself in that position. And Ananias responds to God. He’s reminding God, “You remember who this guy is? Are you sure about this?” (Acts 9: 1-18).
I think any of us would do just about anything to avoid someone that we know as a dangerous person like Saul. Yet, Ananias is a man who was willing to overcome his feelings by obeying God’s voice rather than his fears. He obeys God and he goes on to teach and serve Saul. Ananias knew how to put away suspicions because he knew God was greater than any abusive person. And most of us have suffered with abusive relationships to some degree or another.
In Ananias, God found a man who was willing to set aside his feelings of anger. His fear or animosity towards Saul by choosing not only to do what God said, but to do it with openness and boldness. He begins his relationship with Saul by calling him, “Brother Saul.” Is that what you would say? Immediately, this humble man welcomes Saul as a brother after everything that he had done to the church.
Ananias knew how to obey what Jesus said in Matthew 6 about forgiveness. To forgive someone means that you’re willing to give up the resentment or the desire to punish someone for an offense. Here was a man who wanted others to realize that Christ forgave him. So, he felt obliged also to forgive Saul.
It’s only when we fully appreciate the magnitude of Christ’s forgiveness that we can then grow in our desire to forgive others. And he also obeyed what Jesus said in Luke 6 about loving your enemies. Ananias loved his enemies and did good to the one who despitefully abused Christians. We live in a world that’s becoming increasingly hostile towards one another. Only through an obedient love that comes from a spirit filled life can we grow in this kind of love.
Finally, Ananias boldly spoke what Saul needed to hear: “…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight…; and he arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:17-18 NKJV).
Usually when we speak, we want some assurances that what we say is going to have a positive effect, a positive outcome. Ananias didn’t know how Saul would react. But he overcame his suspicion, and he spoke the words of the truth of God, that God had given him before even the physical manifestations had occurred. We can find in this example a number of points of how God’s Spirit worked in Ananias: How it allowed him to master his fears and suspicions, and then produce a positive outcome. I’m sure it was a growing opportunity for him as well as Saul, who later of course became known as the Apostle Paul.
When we are dealing with one another as the imperfect sinful humans that we are, our suspicions about someone else could be accurate. I mean, Saul truly had done those terrible things to the early church. Should Ananias have sought out Saul without God asking him to? Probably not.
But by deeply considering those three points that I brought out earlier, it brings suspicion into balance. And it turns it into a proper kind of discernment based on maturity and love. Because of that, Ananias was able to obey God in a very difficult situation. And that’s really the point that I think I want to emphasize the most here; I really doubt that it was easy for him, but he was properly prepared to obey.
Our problem is that in the many trials we experience, especially those regarding church matters, we can easily develop suspicions or have this suspicious nature, but it’s unhealthy and it can lead to a whole host of additional problems.
We are or can be overly suspicious of others in the churches. Especially Ministers or others in leadership. It’s very troubling that there are still plenty of people who seem to be just sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for someone to say something that they perceive to be controversial. Often placing meaning into statements that were never intended. And things get blown out of proportion and usually gives opportunity for several more poor choices to be made.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be discerning. However, there are definitely some issues out there to be cautious of. But it must be in balance and from a malleable mind that can be worked with, not a suspicious mind that is closed off and hardened. Is that really what God expects from us? Are all the trials that the churches have gone through over the years then to teach us to be more and more suspicious of other people? No!
Loving relationships and communities do not thrive in the midst of mistrust, suspicion, and accusation. They just don’t. These relationships, if they’re based on that, will all eventually die along with their hopes and dreams under the corrosive effects of suspicion. And that’s exactly what Satan wants to continue to happen to the Church. And we know then, that he will continue to try to use that tactic against us. Are we going to be willing participants in his plan of destruction? I hope not.
We know that the church has much yet to accomplish. Some of the greatest accomplishments will come as a result of us just being available for God to work wonders through obedient servants who don’t operate according to the principles of Satan and this world. We must learn to put spiritual criteria before personal inclinations and learn to relate with other members of the Body of Christ. In other words, be properly prepared to obey. Just like Ananias was.
Unfortunately, we’re immersed in suspicious thinking daily. We are drowning in this mindset from every facet of society around us. Take the time to think about how you might be directly affected and how you might be perhaps unintentionally bringing that into the Church. We need to ask ourselves an important question: What keeps us safe from deception? What keeps you safe from it? Is it our suspicion? Or is it looking to God for protection?
In the restoration of all things that is coming, when all the works of Satan are destroyed, there will be no need for suspicion of any kind. Satan is the father of it, just like he’s the father of lies and all that is going to be permanently removed.
So, if we know that’s the case, what type of mind should we be developing now?
Tim Vail