When doubts arise

"I am not a religious person," she told me. "I admire your faith, but how can I really believe that there is a God when I see what's going on in this world?"  It was an honest question.  Our further conversation showed that she did believe in God, but only in a remote 'power of the Universe' way, not as a personal Friend.
 

Our talk was all the more compelling because doubt came knocking in my life recently, too.  With personal pain I became vulnerable to questions.  My prayer occasionally slipped into an accusatory tone, "I know You're there, but do You care?"

No Christian sets out to doubt! We do not want to be angry with the One we have loved, yet it happens.  You are not a terrible Christian if you experience the fire of doubt.  Righteous Job, after enduring awful loss, finally cries "know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head." (Job 19:6-9, NIV)  Was he right in saying these things about the Lord?  Yes, because that is what life looked like for him at that moment.  When Job was willing to give voices to his doubt, he was ready to deal with it.

Too often Christians try to deal with inner confusion, with conflicted emotions, with doubt and fear, by turning up the volume of their praise songs, or by escaping into the denial of churchy platitudes, or by trying to cut a deal with God.  Better to go to a place of honesty and tell the Lord - "I feel like You have abandoned me."  Lay it out and say it out loud. Cry.  But, don't walk always!

Trials and suffering that stir up doubt in us are invitations to grow in faith. Our Father's desire is that we move beyond a childish relationship that demands only comfort in this moment. Our struggles can accomplish that if we make wise and disciplined choices. 

An important choice is to remain in fellowship with His Body.  Faithful friends will carry us when we collapse, for a time, under the weight of our doubts.  If you're in a shallow fellowship that judges you because you're afraid, that accuses you of some 'sin' in your time of need, find a better one!  To be sure some unwise Christian will likely say hurtful things, but forgive them. You can show them a better way when they enter their own time of suffering, and we all do.

Another good choice is to go back to the basics. When your heart is raw, it is not the best time to try to answer all the questions of life. Read the Psalms of comfort. Go back to the stories of Jesus in the Gospels. Thank Jesus for His love shown in the Cross. Celebrate communion with quiet reverence. Yes, re-connect with the foundation.  Jesus promises that He is there to meet those whose faith is very small, akin to a tiny seed.  Borrow that desperate father's prayer who reached out to Jesus and said, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, NLT)

Balance your perspective! In my conversation with the woman who said she could not believe in a personal God, I asked, "When was the last time you really listened to a baby's cooing in her mother's arms? When did you look at the beautiful world we enjoy?  When did you last observe the noble love of a couple who have weathered life's storms for decades together?"  My point is that we can listen only to the guns of war, see only the litter along the highway of life, and see only the hatred of those psychopaths whose depravity feels the news. If we do, we miss the beauty that remains even in a sin-broken world.

A wonderful transformation happens to those who persevere through doubt. They become less attached to the things of this world and Heaven comes nearer.  Yes, suffering remains. Mystery still exists. For some questions there are simply no answers while we remain robed in flesh.

Here's the word from the Word.  They are Job's prayer that followed his outburst of frustration with God.

"Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!" (Job 19:23-27, NKJV)

 ______________

Father, give us the gift of faith.

Bless us with courage to remain steady.

Open our eyes to greater glories than momentary pleasure.

Hold us in the storm.

And release us from the pain that the curse visits on this planet.

For Jesus' sake and His Name,

Amen.