#539. Doubting Doubt.
May 13th by JonReal Christians don’t doubt. Everyone knows that. If you’ve got doubt in your heart, even a smidge, well then, I’m sorry, you’re still a “baby Christian.” I’ll pray for you, I’ll pray that someday you’ll be an “on fire Christian” and not be so wracked with doubt, because us real Christians never feel doubt.
We wake up in the morning and instantly remember all the other times God has come through. When we are faced with challenges, we don’t fear. We don’t worry. We certainly don’t doubt. You know what I do when I run into a difficult time? I giggle. I pick up that challenge in my hands and tickle it’s belly like an adorable little kitten. Because I live a doubt free life. Like every Christian should.
Because otherwise, if you do find doubt in your heart, you better hide that under the bed. Or between your mattresses, God never thinks to look there. But if He does, if He does find doubt in your heart, I hope, for your sake, you’ll be thrown in the regular lake of fire instead of the lake of fire where you have to spend all of eternity noodlin’ for alligator gar. (Noodlin’ is the “sport” where you walk in lakes/rivers and jam your hands down holes in the ground with the hope that a giant catfish will bite you, allowing you to pull it out and capture it. In Africa they have a version of this that involves lions but instead of “noodlin’” it’s called “dyin’”. An alligator gar is some crazy type of fish I just saw on a show called “River Monsters” in which a biologist spends an entire hour trying to catch, you guessed it, a “river monster.” Whole show should take 7 minutes. I think I just broke the legal length limits of parenthesis.)
God hates doubt like I hate wet socks. I think that’s in Habakkuk. He loves nothing more than to administer the elbow of death on anyone that has doubt in their heart. Or at least that’s what I thought until I read Mark 9:14-26. That chunk of verses messed me up. It shattered my pristine belief that when you become a Christian, I’m talking a “real Christian” you are magically and completely removed of all doubt.
Have you ever read those verses? In them, a father brings his demon possessed son to Jesus. Jesus asks, “How long has he been like this?”
The father replies:
“From childhood. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Jesus replies:
‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
And that’s true. If this guy really believes, then he doesn’t need to be punking Jesus with this “if you can do anything” nonsense. He’s Jesus. That dude is lucky Jesus didn’t reply like female rapper YoYo, “I’m Jesus. Don’t try to play me out.”
But he doesn’t say that. He tells the guy “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
And you know how that unnamed man responds? He goes home and waits until his heart is completely empty of doubt and then four years later returns to get his son healed.
Not exactly. The Bible says:
“Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
At this point, if you doubt that Jesus understands doubt, if you doubt that God tolerates doubt, the cry “help me overcome my unbelief” should earn this man an old school temple clearing style whipping. He’s just told the son of God to his face that he has doubt and unbelief. But how does Jesus respond?
He heals the boy.
The Bible says:
“The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.”
How come Jesus didn’t yell at that father? How come he didn’t rebuke the man for having doubt? How come he didn’t stop everything right there and give the crowd a lesson on the evils of unbelief and how if you really love God you’ll never have an ounce of it?
Because that can’t be true.
We doubt. We struggle. We wrestle with unbelief. And you know how Jesus responds to that?
He heals.
He loves.
He lifts up people that look dead to everyone but him.
I would love to say I don’t doubt, but that would be a lie.
The truth is, I do.
And when I find myself there, I don’t try to hide it or fake it or kill myself over it. I pray a prayer an unnamed man in the Bible first said to Christ.
Help me overcome my unbelief!
Comments
To doubt is to question. To question is to understand. To understand is to belive.
Faith is is impossible without doubt.
To believe that God prefers us to say we don’t have doubt is to believe that God prefers us to be liars. All of us struggle – including the Apostle Paul. Romans 7 makes that clear and the best part, after Paul agonizes over his failures and struggles – He writes, “therefore there is no condmenation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.
@ Nicodemus at Night I’m not sure what all you mean by your saying you doubt your salvation. However, 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us to test whether we are of the faith. It is healthy to examine our salvation.
Often people get hung up thinking Christianity is about how much good you do vs. how much bad you do. Often when folks do something really boneheaded, they think they may not be really saved. But, Christianity isn’t a pursuit of goodness or improving your character. It is a relationship with Jesus. And that relationship changes your heart. When your heart is changed, then your behavior changes. Do everything you can to know Jesus more, then those doubts about whether or not you are saved will subside.
Quoet:” . And that relationship changes your heart. When your heart is changed, then your behavior changes. Do everything you can to know Jesus more, then those doubts about whether or not you are saved will subside.”
I want to comment about foregiveness.
How to live in order to enable the Creator in His loving kindness to provide His foregivness is outlined in the Jewish Bible ; and was also taught by the first century Ribi Yehoshua from Nazareth (the Mashiakh; the Messiah). The Jewish Bible – for example Yekhëzqeil (Hezekiel) 18 – promises foregivness to those who do their sincerest to keep Torah. The Creator cannot lie and He does not change (Malakhi 3:6)! According to Tehilim (“Psalms”) 103 the Creator gives his foregivness to those who do their sincerest to keep His berit (“covenant”; the pre-conditions to be included in the berit is according to the Jewish Bible to do ones sincerest to keep Torah).
You will find Ribi Yehoshuas teachings here: http://www.netzarim.co.il
Anders Branderud
thanks…
this reminds me of two switchfoot songs.
Sooner or Later
“Oh God, I believe!
Please help me believe
I’m a believer, help me believe”
Ode to Chin
“Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs”
I’m grateful for that today.
Wow… I needed this today more than you know! Thanks for being real and biblical with us in a fun way!
By the way, I gave a shout out to your blog on facebook today!
Not sure why, but this brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, I needed this.
Great stuff, and so well written…especially the part about picking up the challenge and tickling it like an adorable little kitten… perfect!! thanks for the encouragement.
wow, really needed that today of all days! thanks.
Late writer Malcolm Muggeridge when asked about his beliefs by William F Buckley Jr responded “doubt”.
Good, good stuff. I doubt. I have questions.
And He helps me overcome them.
I’m glad I don’t have to do it myself!
wv: sublest- I used to pay a lot of rent to store all my doubts, but then I sublest them to God and didn’t have to worry about them anymore
I read through your site sometimes, and often enjoy your witty humor and sarcastic outlook on life, but tonight, I really needed to hear exactly what you wrote about. I came to your blog half-expecting a bit of an empty laugh (sorry… ) but man, that really touched my heart.
I did not know I was allowed to pray that. That is so beautiful. God is so good.
Love and blessings. Thanks for being the typed voice of God to my heart.
Thanks for your post. I’ve only just found it and really wish I’d known about it sooner. It IS inspirational! Being able to write about such important subjects with humour as you do is a real gift. Thank you! Keep it up.
“It is by doubting [or questioning] that we arrive at truth.”
Peter Abelard, ca. 1125. Abelard is one of my favorite all-time Christians, precisely for statements like this.
Great Post. 2 years ago one of kids in our kids church died suddenly of the common flu. Needless to say I have wrestled with a few doubts.
And have learned and am still learning that God is Ok with our doubts. I think that once you have wrestled a doubt to ground you have a more powerful faith because it’s based on something more than thinking positive.
Great post John
You rock!
Your humor rocks.
Your sarcasm rocks.
Thanks for posting.
I love this post! Heartfelt, yet hilarious.
I needed to read this today. Thank you so much.
We do have to remember that James 1:6-8 warns of us doubt though:
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
this post and the first comment are such a blessing to me today. thanks
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. ~ Romans 14:23