You’re driving down the highway, and you come to a stop sign. You stop. You look both ways before proceeding. No one is coming to the left. You look to the right, and you see another car in the distance approaching at a very fast pace. So, you hesitate, remembering the lady who pulled out a few weeks ago when she thought the oncoming car wasn’t going that fast. She misjudged the other driver’s speed, and it didn’t end well. Well, you begin to doubt yourself about your decisions on the road. When is the right time to pull out? Am I a safe driver? We all deal with doubt; it’s just that some decisions are more serious than others!
FACING FIRST DOUBTS
People will accept the fact that you may doubt your driving ability, but when it comes to questioning the truths of Christianity, that is a whole other story. This is especially a problem for young people who head off to college. For the first time, they face professors and other students who question them about Jesus and what He said and practiced. Then come the questions regarding why so many people suffer in this world if God is all-powerful and loving.
FACING DOUBT IS UNIVERSAL
Doubts do not end with college students trying to find their way. Questions continue with those of us who are older and more mature. Even the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, had his moment of doubt when he said: “The thought crossed my mind -which I abhorred but could not conquer- that there was no God, no Christ, no heaven, no hell, that all my prayers were but a farce, and that I might as well have whistled to the winds or spoken to the howling waves.” Spurgeon struggled with deep depression and illness most of his life.
CONFRONTING DOUBT HONESTLY
There are different kinds of doubt. Each must be confronted and dealt with in order for a believer to have a strong faith. A promise is linked with allowing one’s faith to grow. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to the mountain, ‘ Go, throw yourself into the sea and it will be done’” (Matthew 21:21). Isn’t that a wonderful reason to honestly confront doubt and allow your faith to grow?
DIFFERENT ANGLES OF DOUBT
Strong faith is produced by strong devotion to the word of God. Doubt comes at us from many different angles. It can come from unanswered questions that linger in our minds. Sometimes it arrives from immoral behavior that people engage in. Times of suffering can bring doubt to the forefront where it lingers.
DOUBT AND THE HOSPITAL ROOM
I personally experienced doubts while spending an extended time in the hospital. My doubts bubbled to the surface, and I began to question the power of God. Why wasn’t He helping me? Why wasn’t He demonstrating His ability to remedy the problem? Was everything I believed about the character of God a lie? Doubt threw my soul into turmoil.
GOD LOVES HONESTY
What was the remedy? I began to pray and remind myself of the wonderful Truth I studied and preached for most of my life. The Holy Spirit reminded me Who God is and that He is Sovereign, regardless of the circumstances and the conflicting diagnoses from the doctors. My faith was weak and I prayed, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). God loves honesty.
HELP FOR DOUBT
What do you do with doubt? As complicated as the answer to that question is, let me just say……Stay in the Word! Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes. The more you fill your life with biblical truths, the weaker the strongholds of doubt will grow. Be honest with God and talk to Him directly about your doubt. He is faithful and will answer.
In the meantime, look both ways before pulling out in traffic!
