When in Doubt

Have you ever had times when you wonder if this whole Christianity thing is true? Where do you turn at those times? Even those who have been Christians most of their life may have periods of doubt, particularly during times of suffering. John the Baptist wondered if he’d gotten it all wrong (Luke 7:20), and the disciples all fled when Jesus was arrested (Matt. 26:56) even though they had all seen Jesus in the flesh, performing miraculous signs. The Apostle Paul also had to correct some lies that were being circulated among the churches and causing people to doubt (2 Tim. 2:18). It’s not surprising then that two millennia later we may wonder if we’ve wandered down a dead-end road.

One place that I’ve turned at such times is the historicity of the Bible. Josh McDowell started out trying to disprove the Bible and instead ended up convincing himself of the truth of Christianity. Others have had a similar experience. I believe there is sufficient evidence to prove the validity of the text. And because I believe the Bible is a true and reliable document, I believe there is a God who created the world and has provided the Bible to explain who He is, why we are here, and what we are supposed to believe.

Since that is the case, then we should also believe the promises that God has made in His Word to those who follow Him. If I’m honest, that may be the hardest part to accept when life is difficult. It’s one thing to believe that there is a sovereign God, but something bigger to believe that He is personally interested and invested in each individual person. It’s easier to picture God as the Creator, a powerful being who is in charge of nations, societies, and worlds, but perhaps doesn’t pay much attention to little ol’ me. But the Bible says He does, and I believe the Bible is His Word, so it must be true.

So the question then is what to do with that information. The Psalms are a good place to turn, because they give a wide variety of examples of people who turned to God in their times of suffering, doubt, confusion, and anger, and also in times of joy, peace, celebration, and blessing. In essence, God Himself provided words we can use to speak to Him and to hear from Him in all kinds of circumstances. When we don’t have words of our own, we can use Scripture’s own words. And when we don’t feel able to do even that much, we can trust that God already knows what we’re thinking (Psalm 139:2) and what we need (Matt. 6:8), and we even have the Spirit interceding on our behalf (Rom. 8:26-27).

For the true Christian, although doubts may come, God will not let them remain. We will find ourselves drawn back to Him again and again, because even our faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8).

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14-15).

© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

A Little Faith

In Mark 9, immediately following the account of the Transfiguration, Jesus interacts with a man whose son is suffering seizures because of a demon. The man implores, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus sounds a wee bit miffed when He responds, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible for the one who believes.” The man’s response is one I have often prayed, “I believe; help my unbelief!” In Matthew’s account of the incident, when the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon, His response is “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20 see also 21:21).

This wasn’t the first time the disciples had their lack of faith pointed out by Jesus. There are four prior times mentioned in Scripture:

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt. 6:30).

In the storm on the sea, “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matt. 8:26).

Peter tried walking on water, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matt. 14:30-31).

After Jesus fed the multitude, and the disciples wondered why Jesus was talking about leaven, Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember…?” (Matt. 16:8-9).

Here were twelve men who walked with Jesus and listened to His teaching every day for three years straight, and yet He kept mentioning their “little” faith. That encourages me because we’re in good company! We probably all fit in that category most of the time. (I have yet to hear of someone moving a mountain with their mustard seed-sized faith.) Even though we know God is fully capable of doing anything He wants, we don’t always believe that He will, and we often don’t even bother to ask Him to do so.

There have been many times I’ve wished and prayed for stronger faith, but even that is a little scary because, as James wrote, “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (1:3). I’d rather have the faith without any testing if possible, but that isn’t God’s normal method of working. Who needs faith when things are going smoothly? It’s in the midst of the storms and questions that we have to decide if we trust that God is good, in control, and fully aware of our circumstances.

It’s not so much the size of our faith that matters, but the One in whom it is placed. God is perfectly willing to work with people who have faith the size of a grain of sand, so long as we keep turning to Him as often as we need to.

“Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Doubtless

I’ve always felt sorry for Thomas. Scripture never calls him “Doubting Thomas,” but sometime in history he got labeled as a skeptic. Here’s the story from John’s gospel:

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:24-29).

The main thing that made Thomas different from the other disciples is that he did not happen to be with them the other times Jesus appeared. In Luke’s account of Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we’re told,

“He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!’” (Luke 24:25).

And then when Jesus appeared to the others,

“As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them” (Luke 24:36-42).

Thomas was really no different from the other disciples in his desire for visible proof of the resurrected Jesus. None of Jesus’ followers really understood that He was going to rise again in three days, even though Jesus had told them so. In fact, when Jesus tried to tell them (Mark 8:31-33), Peter rebuked Jesus and yet Peter wasn’t labeled a skeptic. If they had predicted the resurrection, would they have run away on the night of His arrest (Mark 14:50)? Would they have been hiding behind locked doors (John 20:19)?

The point is not that Thomas or any of the others doubted. We all have doubts at times. But Jesus understands our doubts and confusion and He comes to us in our place of need. I find it interesting that some Muslims come to faith in Christ because they see a vision. That seems to be a method that they are able to accept, whereas other people might just think of it as a weird dream. Some people are more convinced by historical proofs of the reliability of the biblical texts and authors (for example Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ). Whatever the case may be, if someone is genuinely interested in knowing the resurrected Jesus, they will not be turned away. God desires people to come to faith in Him even more than we do (2 Pet. 3:9). Thomas’s doubts were answered and he remained faithful to Jesus. It is believed that he carried the gospel message into India.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:29-31).

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© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.