Feel free to forward this to a friend!
Who hasn’t felt the stabbing pain of doubting God? When things go well, we seem to have no reason to question God, His goodness and His provision for our lives. When things turn sour and our health is shattered, or our spouse walks out or one of our children rebel … then we ask God, “What’s up God?” And in those moments we allow doubt to affix itself to our soul, draining our hope and joy like some vampire bat.
During such times we feel waves of guilt and shame. After all, aren’t we the one who has told others to ‘trust God’ when they have felt the pain of tragedy and trials? From our warm and happy place, the words seem to flow freely. Now, when the roles are reversed, our hypocrisy stabs us deep within.
It may surprise you to know that someone as bold and fierce in his faith as John the Baptist had real doubts in just such a time. Facing death, John began to question whether Jesus was truly the Son of God! His agony is recorded with these words …
Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Luke 7:18-23
We become like Jesus when …
o We give our doubts to Jesus, knowing He can and will provide the proof we need to handle the doubts we have!
John wasn’t about to stay in his dilemma. After tossing the dark clouds around in his prison cell, he decided to act. This is what faith does – it acts! He doesn’t mess around with ‘self-help’ books or the latest ‘fad theology’, he goes straight to Jesus Himself. And what does Jesus do? He demonstrates his awesome power to the very people John sends with his questions and doubts.
When we ask Jesus to dispel our doubts, He does so by showing us how He is working all around us in incredible ways – doing ‘God-things’ for those in need! Today, if you are fighting doubts and depression about your faith, cry out to Jesus. Ask Him to show you His power and the truth of His existence and authority, just like John did. He will answer you in wonderful ways!
© 2009 By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith
