Desperate questions
Do you really exist, God? Why does this have to happen to me? Is the Bible really true? What is written in the story of creation cannot be true! God cannot be a God of love if He allows so much suffering! How does it all work in heaven, technically speaking? Why do miracles never happen in my life, even though I pray so much for them? Why did my grandmother have to die? How do the biblical accounts of creation and history fit in with science? If God exists and I believe in Him, why don’t I feel Him? Why are evil people better off than me? Do I really believe enough? Have I prayed enough? Does God really want the best for me? Then why is my health so poor? Where is God anyway?
Are you familiar with questions like these? Have you ever doubted God? Are you sometimes unsure whether your faith is right? Does God feel miles away from you? Or are you always rock-solid in your faith? Is it okay for a Christian to doubt? Is it even POSSIBLE?
James on doubt
Pray with firm confidence and do not doubt, for whoever doubts is like the waves of the sea, tossed back and forth by the wind. Such a person cannot expect the Lord to give them anything.
James 1:6-7
Strong stuff and a clear message! So: put your doubts aside, ignore them, push them away, supress them, and then move on. Question answered: a Christian must not doubt! If he does, then he is probably not praying enough and not going to church often enough. You can do better! Spend more time in quiet reflection. Read more Christian books. Then everything will be fine again!
Hold on! That can’t be all there is to it?!?!
Do you sometimes have doubts?
Have questions like those in the first paragraph ever crossed your mind? I believe that every Christian, to a greater or lesser extent, reaches a point where they ask themselves such questions. I am no exception… and there are even people in the Bible who had doubts:
Gideon at his calling:
Now Gideon no longer had any doubts, and he cried out, ‘LORD, my God, I must die! For I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. You will not die. My peace be with you.’
Judges 6:22-23
Abraham’s wife Sarah:
Then the LORD said to Abraham, „Why is Sarah laughing? Why does she doubt my words that she will still have a child?
Genesis 18:3
Even Thomas, a close friend of Jesus, doubted (John 20:25)
So you’re in good company! 😊
Jude writes in his letter:
Be kind to all who are uncertain in their faith.
Jude 1:22
And even Jesus knows how we work inside and that people sometimes simply doubt:
I am telling you all this so that you will not lose faith in me and give up.
John 16:1
What do you do with doubts?
How have you dealt with your doubts or how do you deal with them? There are several possibilities:
You suppress them like an iceberg suppresses water.
You don’t allow such ‘doubtful’ thoughts. That may work for the moment, possibly for a longer period of time. But at some point, when the situation is really tough, these doubts will resurface and everything will get worse and worse. Until you are perhaps ready to turn your back on God.
You play Dwayne Johnson or Scarlett Johansson.
Inside, you doubt, but on the outside, you play the part of a Hollywood-worthy believer who stands firm on the rock of the gospel and is full of power. Because you can’t allow yourself to have doubts, otherwise you’ll lose your job in the church community! A preacher who doubts? Never! Acting is not healthy and cannot be sustained in the long run. Sooner or later, the façade will crumble because it is exhausting to maintain it. And then there will be a huge crash.
You face them
‘Yes, I have doubts!’ If you can admit to yourself that you have these feelings and don’t supress them, that’s a good start. You are not alone with your doubts and you are still a beloved child of God! Even if it may not feel that way…
You let them out
You were able to confide your doubts to someone? That’s good! I think it’s the best way to deal with them. That way, you can get help and you will experience a new kind of trust between you and the person you share your doubts with. Because you are truly open and honest. Of course, you make yourself vulnerable by showing weakness. But that’s a good thing. Because it encourages the other person to admit their weaknesses, and that strengthens your relationship.
If you don’t have anyone you trust (after all, you don’t have to bare your soul to everyone), then the first place to go is always Jesus (well, always, but if you find it hard to believe, then… then probably even more so). Firstly, Jesus knows exactly how you tick – whether you say it out loud or not. Secondly, He wants you to talk to Him and let go of your worries (Matthew 11:28). He can handle it! Thirdly, He will not reject you – just as He did not reject His disciple Thomas:
Then he turned to Thomas: ‘Put your finger on my pierced hands and look at them! Give me your hand and put it in the wound in my side! Don’t doubt any longer, but believe!’
John 20:27
I believe it is good to be honest with yourself and with God (at least that’s how I feel). Only then can healing take place.
In the end
And what do we do now with the Bible passage from James 1:6-7 at the beginning? We will certainly encounter difficulties on our journey with God if we doubt Him. But we are only human! I believe we can also see this Bible passage as an incentive when we reach our limits again. Yes, we have our doubts; they cannot be denied. But if we can overcome them with God’s help, we will grow stronger in faith and stand more firmly the next time things get tough. But even if we fall again, we can know that last time we kept going. So: get up, straighten your crown, and keep going.
Faith is not a sure-fire success. It’s like a marriage. There are times when everything is wonderful and times when everything seems to go wrong. But no matter what, faith, like marriage, is always worth working on!
It’s wonderful that there are people whose faith is truly unshakeable. But the reality is that there are also people who have doubts. The former should not be arrogant, merciless and harsh towards the doubters, and the latter should not be envious of those who have rock-solid faith and become frustrated by such Christians.
True to the motto:
In everything you do, let love guide you.
1 Corinthians 16:14
