I Doubt It: How Your Doubts Can Strengthen Your Faith

I have always struggled with doubts. There. I said it. I am a Christian pastor and missionary and I doubt at times. And...I believe my doubts (at least how I have responded to them thus far) have strengthened my faith. Let me try and explain why.

I believe the time has passed for mindless faith. That is, inherited faith. The faith that says, "that's what mama and daddy believed so that is what I believe." To say we are living in the 'information age' is an understatement. I was teaching a class yesterday and a retired long-shoreman in the class was taking notes on his iPad. We are not in the stone age anymore.

We are all going to encounter two things in life: tragedy and skeptics. When these occur, if we have not been through the spiritual exercise of doubt, the subsequent exploration of why we believe, receiving the illumination of reasonable answers, our spiritual knees will collapse. 

I have lost a child, a teenage daughter. I have been criticized for my faith by people I care about deeply. If I hadn't wrestled with doubt before and been through the aforementioned process, I certainly could not be teaching people about Jesus and encouraging them to believe in and follow Him. 

Something else that has created resolve in my Christian faith has been watching people who love Jesus deeply journey through the pains of this life. There is something truly different about them. They are anchored. I've watched them leave this life in peace, knowing they are going home as a trophy of Divine grace. 

If you are a Christian and find yourself at a doubting place, it's ok. 

I guess the main point is this: Jesus can stand up to scrutiny. Some books I have read through the years that have strengthened reasonable faith in my times of doubt are:

The New Testament - New Living Translation, New King James Translation, The Message

The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel

More Than a Carpenter - Josh McDowell

and a current read...The Reason for God - Tim Keller

Decision Time

I received a question today from a young lady trying to make a good and godly decision about a career change. This is my response to her. Feel free to leave a comment about what has helped you make big decisions.

One of the paradoxes in life is that we get a sense of fulfillment from two polar opposite experiences: stability and variety. Part of us wants the security of sameness. The other part thrives on new experiences. 

I think there are two ways God speaks to us about these big decisions. The first way (and the one I prefer) is clear and direct, so clear and direct that you just know, and you know that if you don't do it you are being disobedient to His will. The second way is cumulative. It is a process. Laying it out on paper, discussing it with your spouse, getting input from wise and godly people, and time alone with God. If the positives outweigh the negatives, if your spouse is good with it, if godly people affirm it as a valid opportunity and don't admonish you away from it, and you still feel unsettled...the final piece is His peace. Is the Spirit of God saying, "Don't do it," or is it that part of you that wants the security of sameness? When I am wrestling with those questions I know it's time to get alone with Him. I need to get settled. I need to make sure I am willing to do what He says; then I ask Him. My prayer would be something like this: "Spirit of God, my Counselor and Teacher, my Comforter and Guide, please silence all other voices and settle my spirit. I need Your peace and direction. Is this new job what is best for my family and best for me?" Then it's time to listen. Be silent and still. Don't leap. Be led. That's all I've got. BTW, this was the way he led us to leave a job I dearly loved and was very comfortable with (being a pastor at MVC). I am still buoyed in the midst of many unknowns, with this peace...He led us here.

I Doubt it 2: Another Thought for Those of Us Who Have Doubts

Sometimes life is like learning to snowboard. The first time I snowboarded, I spent most of the day testing the surface of the snow with my rear. Once or twice I just stayed down there watching cloud formations. The second time was different. I was able to stay up most of the time. I eventually graduated to the intermediate slope and enjoyed a few top to bottom runs without going bottom up. A couple hours in I was tooling along thinking, "I got this!" That's when my board decided to take a hard left. I centrifugally launched on a straight trajectory that increased vertical distance to the ground on a path of descent (i.e. further out, further down). I landed on my right shoulder. Six years have past since that fall. I still haven't regained full range of motion.

Life is like that. You find yourself on auto-pilot thinking, "I've got this." You expect the slope of life to be well groomed. That is usually when you catch an edge. You are upended. What happens (spiritually) when that happens? Doubt happens. It happened to a man Jesus described as "the greatest man who ever lived" (Matthew 11:11). His name was John, a.k.a. John the Baptist. Think of all the biblical examples of faith and faithfulness. Think of every man or woman who has made an indelible, positive impact on humanity. According to Jesus, John is the apex, pinnacle, the top of that list. After a stellar life of faithfulness to God John was imprisoned (for telling the truth) and sentenced to die by beheading. Did this bastion of the faith, facing imminent death, do so with a settled mind and a steel spine? Did he toggle between praise songs and prayers until the axe met its mark? Hardly. 

^{Matthew 11:2-3}

² John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ³ “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

In other words, "I thought you were it Jesus? Have I totally wasted my life? This is not what I expected? I'm doubting everything." Did Jesus rebuke him? Did he use his struggle as an example of floundering faith to be avoided? No. Jesus did what Jesus-followers should but seldom do in similar situations. He sent John a message that affirmed his worth, encouraged his heart, settled his mind, and carried him through.

^{Matthew 11:4-5}

⁴ Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— ⁵ the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor...

¹⁰ John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    and he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.

When people are struggling with doubt what should we do? Resist the urge to quote a verse. Stop judging for God's sake! Affirm their worth to God and to you. Let them know (if you are in a place to) that they can borrow some of your faith for awhile if they don't have any of their own. Repeat as often as necessary..."and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).